Xu Yingwei refused: or make people turn to illegal gambling
The DAB conducted a survey on youth gambling habits earlier. Nearly 20% of the respondents had gambled on football matches, and nearly 20% of them were under the age of 18. The DAB Chan Hak-qin asked the Secretary for Home Affairs Xu Yingwei in the Legislative Council today (18) the number of police crackdowns on illegal gambling in the past three years and whether it will study whether the legal gambling age will be further raised from 18 to 21.
The Secretary for Home Affairs, Xu Yingwei, responded that the government clearly discourages gambling and allows limited and regulated legal gambling channels to avoid turning to illegal gambling. However, Xu Yingwei subsequently refuted the comments quoted by Chen Keqin, emphasizing that he did not agree that the Jockey Club’s betting methods had caused young people to indulge in gambling. Instead, illegal betting operators introduced new methods from time to time to expand the source of customers. The Jockey Club must monitor changes and update the betting methods as appropriate. , To maintain a certain degree of competitiveness, and said that it will ensure that the proposed method does not worsen the gambling trend.
Xu Yingwei also believes that raising the legal gambling age to 21 years old to deal with youth gambling problems "seems to be unable to completely prescribe the right medicine", and believes that this may increase the participation of young people aged 18 to 20 in illegal gambling and gambling behavior. The risk of the problem.
Illegal gambling fell sharply in 2019 betting receipts and amounts involved surged last year
In the Legislative Council, Keqin Chan verbally asked about illegal gambling statistics. After consulting the Security Bureau, Xu Yingwei responded that 5,048 people were arrested in 2018, of which 77 were arrested for accepting bets, involving about 155 million yuan, including about 1.47. 100 million yuan of betting slips and about 8.3 million yuan; 3,296 people were arrested in 2019, of which only two were arrested for taking bets, involving about 4.7 million yuan, including about 2 million yuan of betting receipts and about 2.7 million yuan. However, as of 2020, a total of 5,198 people have been arrested, of which 19 were arrested for taking bets. The amount involved has increased to 620 million yuan, including about 591 million yuan of betting receipts and about 8.3 million yuan.
Chen Keqin questioned the specific work done by the authorities to reduce the problem of gambling. He said that the amount of money seized by the police had soared, which proved that the problem of illegal gambling was serious.
Xu Yingwei claims that the epidemic has closed legal casinos and the periphery has risen sharply
Xu Yingwei responded that the Jockey Club figures show that the account and betting levels of bettors under the age of 21 have continued to decline, emphasizing that the government will step up enforcement actions to stop illegal gambling. He specifically mentioned that due to the closure of many legal gambling establishments during the epidemic, illegal gambling has become serious, and he believes that law enforcement figures reflect the effect. At the same time, Xu Yingwei pointed out that illegal gambling has become more diverse. He also noticed that in the relevant investigation, 20% of people who had gambled have gambled through external bookmakers. Therefore, it is necessary to study how to prevent illegal gambling from worsening the gambling trend, but he agreed with Ma Huihui. Fighting illegal gambling to spend more money to attract gamblers, stressing that we must first strengthen the interception, and then study the problem of avoiding the strengthening of gambling.
As for the work progress of the authorities on the gambling research report, Xu Yingwei pointed out that the authorities have started the research in early 2021 and expect to be completed in the first quarter of 2022, and will share it again by then.
[TW]
民建聯倡合法賭齡提至21歲 徐英偉拒絕：或令人轉至非法賭博
民建聯早前進行了一個有關青少年賭博習慣的調查，當中近兩成受訪者曾經賭波，其中近兩成未達18歲。民建聯陳克勤今日（18日）在立法會問民政事務局局長徐英偉，過去三年警方打撃非法賭博的相關數字，及會否研究將合法賭博年齡進一步由18歲升至21歲。
民政事務局局長徐英偉回應指，政府清晰地並不鼓勵賭博，容許有限度和受規管地提供合法博彩途徑，是為了避免轉向非法賭博。不過，徐英偉隨後反駁陳克勤引述的評論，強調不認同馬會提供投注方式造成青少年沉迷賭博，而是非法博彩經營者不時推出新方式擴大客源，馬會須監察變化並視情況更新投注方式，維持一定競爭力，又表示會確保建議的方式不令賭風惡化。
徐英偉亦認為，提高合法賭博年齡至21歲的手段，用於處理青少年賭博問題，「似乎未能完全對症下藥」，更相信此舉有可能增加18至20歲的青年人參與非法賭博及出現賭博行為問題的風險。
2019年非法賭博大跌 去年賭注單據及涉款額急增
陳克勤在立法會口頭質詢問到非法賭博的相關數字，徐英偉在諮詢保安局後回覆指，2018年有5,048人被捕，當中77人因收受賭注被捕，涉約1.55億元，包括約1.47億元投注單據及約830萬元款項；2019年有3,296人被捕，當中只有兩人因收受賭注被捕，涉約470萬元，包括約200萬元投注單據及約270萬元款項。然而，至2020年，共5,198人被捕，當中19人因收受賭注被捕，涉款急增至6.2億元，包括約5.93億元投注單據及約830萬元款項。
陳克勤質疑當局有何具體工作減低賭博問題，指警方檢獲的金額急升，證明非法賭博問題嚴重，又指當局否定民建聯的建議，問實際有何工作減低青少年賭博。
徐英偉指疫情令合法賭場關閉 外圍急升
徐英偉回應指，馬會數字顯示21歲以下投注人的戶口及投注情況水平持續下降，強調政府在執法上會加強堵截非法賭博的情況。他特別提到，疫情下由於不少合法賭博場所關閉，令非法賭博變得嚴重，認為執法數字反映了效果。同時，徐英偉指非法賭博變得更五花八門，他亦留意到有關的調查當中，曾賭博的人有20%經外圍莊家賭博，故需要研究如何避免非法賭博令賭風惡化，但同意馬會不會與非法賭博鬥多花款以吸引賭博者，強調首先要加強堵截，再研究避免賭博風氣加強的問題。
至於當局就賭博研究報告的工作進度，徐英偉指，當局2021年初已開始研究，期望2022年第一季完成，屆時會再作分享。
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