PACT Director delivers speech on China’s Welfare and Sports Lottery Industry

In addition, PacificNet CEO Victor Tong, CFO Phillip Wong and other key executives attended the event. Su, a well-known expert and researcher in Chinese lottery industry addressed the conference and provided guidance and suggestions on China’s lottery industry development and government policy making.

Su’s conference speech covered key topics including: challenges and opportunities facing the gaming industry in China, gaming & tourism industries and their impacts on the economic development and public welfare in various regions in China, responsible gaming and prevention of negative social impacts of the gaming industry, and prevention of addictive or pathological gambling behavior, as well as a brief discussion on China’s government regulations on lottery industry and a suggestion on the establishment of legal system with the concept of "Harmonious Society".

The 5th International Conference and Forum on Gaming Industry and Public Welfare was held in Beijing, China on 22-24 November 2008, jointly organized by China Center for Lottery Studies (CCLS) at Peking University, Macao Polytechnic Institute, Institute for Tourism Studies, and Macao Tourism and Casino Career Center.

Committed to foster a healthy development of the gaming industry in China, including that in Hong Kong SAR, Macao SAR, and Taiwan, this annual conference provides a platform for communication, exchange and debate on issues facing policy makers, operators, as well as scholars in the industry. The organizers are particularly keen to provoke high quality research in gaming and in the gaming industry. Theme of this year’s conference is "Global Trend of Recreation and Gaming Industry".

Conference speakers include: Jia Kang, Director, Institute of Finance, Ministry of Finance, Ding Feng, Director, Legislative Affairs Office of the State Council P.R. China, Wang Zhenyao, Director, Office for Charity Coordination and Promotion, Ministry of Civil Affairs, Wei Jixiang, Deputy Director, National Sports Lottery Association, Professor Shen Mingming, Director, and Dr. Wang Xuehong, China Centre for Lottery Studies (CCLS) Peking University, Professor William Eadington, Professor of Economics and Director of the Institute for the Study of Gambling and Commercial Gaming at the University of Nevada, Reno, Professor David Forrest, Centre for the Study of Gambling, University of Salford, UK, Professor Zeng Zhonglu, Macau Polytechnic Institute, Guo Shiyou, Director, Sports Lottery Centre of Henan Province,P.R. China and Professor Feng Jiachao, Gambling Institute of University of Macau

Concurrent to the conference, the China Gaming Expo, hosted by China Center for Lottery Studies, is a top gaming conference and exhibition tailormade for China market. It has gained great support from the State Council’sMinistry of Finance, Ministry of Civil Administration, Legal Office, National Sports Lottery Association, National Welfare Lottery Association, provincial and municipal lottery associations, as well as other lottery associations from home and abroad. China Gaming Expo provides an excellent chance for contact decision-makers of lottery industry, for gripe the development of Chinese lottery industry.

In the expo the exhibitor will show the most advanced lottery equipment. Many leading companies such as Intralot, Gtech, G-Lot, PacificNet, Openlot and Beijing Sport Lottery Information Promotion Ltd. all attend the event.

"As a member of the lottery technology industry, it is PacificNet’s obligation to comply with relevant rules and regulations and actively boost the lottery industry," said Victor Tong, PacificNet CEO. "Our Director Su’s expertise and knowledge in this area is an asset to PacificNet as well as a great addition to the Chinese lottery industry. Compared with Western countries, China’s lottery business still lags far behind but has far greater potentials."

In 2008, China published a draft management regulation on lotteries and is seeking public opinions. Public hearings have been held along with expert consultation before new lottery regulations are set up. If officially issued, it would be the China’s first national management regulation on lotteries since the launch of China lottery industry in 1987. The new lottery regulation is expected to issue next year.

It is aimed to enhance supervision of the fast-growing lottery industry and stamp out fraud, which has been on the rise since China launched its first lottery two decades ago. Currently, China has a provisional regulation on the management of lottery distribution and sales, which was issued by the Ministry of Finance in 2002.

The China Welfare Lottery Administrative Center and the Sports Lottery Administrative Center of the China General Administration of Sport, both state-run, are the only two legitimate lottery issuers. The draft regulation also requires lottery vendors to keep the identity of lottery winners confidential and demands transparency of money taken in and how it is spent on a regular basis. Lottery funds should cover lottery prizes and management funding for lottery sellers.

The remaining funds should be spent on the improvement of public welfare, according to the draft, quoting that a percentage of the revenue would be decided by State Council financial departments. Individuals or government departments violating the regulation by selling lotteries unauthorized by the State Council would be fined and face criminal charges and any illegal gains would be confiscated.

According to a recent report titled "Economic and Social Development of China in 2007" by National Bureau of Statistics of China (http://www.stats.gov.cn ), China’s total lottery sales in 2007 had exceeded us$ 13.7 billion, an increase of 20 % over last year, setting a 20-year record in China’s lottery history.

China spent a record us$ 14.7 billion on welfare programs in 2007, with almost a fifth of the funding coming from record lottery revenues. A major sources of funding for social welfare programs, China Welfare Lottery, saw a 25 % rise in lottery sales in 2007. The Ministry of Civil Affairs reported that welfare expenditure increased by 34.6 % in 2007 over the previous year.