South Korea to allow online betting on horse racing

A bill to amend the Korean Horse Racing Act introduced by the ruling Democratic Party is supported by 15 lawmakers.

South Korea.- The ruling Democratic Party has introduced a bill in the National Assembly seeking to allow online wagering on domestic horse racing to aid an industry deeply impacted by the pandemic.

The bill, which proposes allowing online betting only until a fixed threshold has been reached, has received the support of 15 lawmakers, led by Representative Kim Seung-nam.

The Korean Horse Racing Act currently only allows wagers to be taken in person at a racecourse or off-track betting facility.

But racecourses and off-track betting shops remain closed and races are still being held without spectators in South Korea.

International events such as the Korea Cup and Korea Sprint scheduled for September have been postponed until the same month in 2021.

The proposed amendment of the Horse Racing Act would not only aid employees and companies from the industry, but also the Korea Racing Authority, which is one of the largest taxpayers in the country, KoreaRacing-live reported.

To address concerns on the danger of allowing online betting, the bill proposes suspending online betting once a determined threshold established by the government has been passed.

If the bill goes through the regular channels and procedures, the National Assembly would be ready to vote on it by early 2021.