The Asia Pacific Lottery Association (APLA) concluded its fourth regional conference in Beijing today (25 September). Nearly 160 delegates from 50 lottery organisations and industry suppliers representing 23 countries attended the five-day Conference, which began on Sunday.
Hosted by HKJC Lotteries Ltd, this year's Conference focused on the theme "Modernisation of the Lottery". This, said APLA Chairman Mr Henry Chan, was a theme not only referring to technology advancement.
"Modernisation of the lottery is infused into each and every presentation - from corporate social responsibility, to marketing, to our relationships with our communities and governments," said Mr Chan, who is also the Executive Director, Betting of The Hong Kong Jockey Club.
Mr Chan said modernisation also referred to how the member organisations differentiated themselves from unregulated operators, and the lottery industry from gambling, because APLA members were all organisations that gave back a large part of the lotteries income to the community, benefiting their home countries and people at large.
The Conference in Beijing also brought to a close the second and final term of Henry Chan as APLA Chairman. Under his four-year leadership, APLA has expanded its membership from 17 to 24 and also accepted 14 new associate members since this new membership category was introduced in 2006.
Mr Chan said that by striving for membership growth from legalised lottery operators, APLA was not only able to strengthen development of the lottery business in the Asia Pacific region, but also to advance the collective interest of its members in the international arena.
"Our linkage with the World Lottery Association (WLA) has been strengthened and Asia Pacific's regional presence has grown in WLA," he said. "APLA membership now accounts for 21 per cent of WLA membership and we are well represented in nine out of the 13 WLA Committees."
During the Conference, renowned keynote and industry speakers from around the world fostered a professional exchange of industry information and experience. Topics for discussion included the modernisation of lotteries in member countries; responsible gaming best practices; and sports betting development in Asia and Europe.
Much of the success of the event can be credited to the support of two Chinese member organisations. "I should like to thank the China Sports Lottery Administration Centre and China Welfare Lottery Issuing and Management Centre. Without their generous support and hospitality, the Conference could not have achieved such success," Mr Chan emphasised.
About APLA
Formed in 2000, the Asia Pacific Lottery Association (APLA) is one of the five regional associations of the World Lottery Association (WLA). APLA represents 24 members from 10 countries in the Asia Pacific region; namely Australia, China (including Hong Kong), French Polynesia, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore and Thailand. Between them, these members recorded an annual combined lottery turnover in excess of US$36 billion in 2007, representing over 16% of worldwide lottery sales.
APLA aims to advance the goals and collective interests of its members and enhancing the capability, common knowledge and status of individual APLA members.
About HKJC Lotteries Limited
HKJC Lotteries Limited, a subsidiary of The Hong Kong Jockey Club, is the sole legal operator of the Mark Six lottery in Hong Kong. Launched to combat illegal lotteries some 30 years ago, the Mark Six has since contributed a total of US$3.1 billion to Government's lottery duty and US$1.5 billion to the Lotteries Fund, supporting major social welfare projects in Hong Kong in areas such as rehabilitation, elderly welfare, family and youth services.
The Executive Director of HKJC Lotteries Limited, Mr Henry Chan, was elected Vice-Chairman of APLA on its foundation in 2000 and became its Chairman in 2004.
