ONE OF the great gambles in China is predicting when, or if, the government will lift the ban on gambling. If it does happen, the opportunities for the Irish bloodstock industry are enormous.

Betting remains a taboo in mainland China, a social ill – chairman Mao Zedong’s communists banned all forms of gambling after the revolution in 1949. Hong Kong is the only venue on Chinese soil where betting on horses is legal.

While the powers that be decide on whether to allow limited forms of gambling, and there are constant rumours of that happening, there are plenty of opportunities here for Irish companies. China’s new rich like horses and there are also signs that the racing industry is starting to develop.

“China is the big, quiet market, we’ve been out five or six times,” says Michael O’Hagan, chief executive officer of Irish Thoroughbred Marketing, during the trade mission.

“The industry here is not formalised yet and it’s all word of mouth. If it works in one place, then the next place comes up, then the next. I don’t think any one country can supply it all out here.

“You have to get the right foundation in place, it’s not just about buying horses today. We say we can give you training so you can have the infrastructure, then you have experts and then you can buy horses. The floodgates are open to business coming down the road.”

There are signs of change, though. There is a restricted form of gambling at places like Wuhan. Rather than a tote system or on-course betting, punters can earn shopping vouchers or lottery tickets in raffles between races.

During the trade mission, the horse racing industry signed a €40 million export tie-in with the country’s first national equine facility, based in Tianjin. The Tianjin Equine Culture City will be the first of its kind in China and the €1.5 billion project will open in phases from next year.

The Tianjin centre will feature 4,000 horse stalls, a horse clinic, 150 trainers’ offices, five training tracks and two international standard racetracks.

The deal marks the first Chinese government involvement with an overseas joint venture in horse racing and breeding.

Keith Rowe, director of Race, the Racing Academy and Centre of Education, says the Irish industry was aware of the gap in the market and was keen to exploit it.

“On education, we can supply a lot of that. There is no quick fix here. We are working towards training people in Ireland, riders, jockeys, stud staff and stable staff, similar to the programme we had in Japan.

“It’s still rough and ready here,” he adds, “and you can’t transform that overnight. It would be short- sighted just to bring horses here; you need to bring feed and veterinary services as well, bring the whole package.”