Chinese online sports lottery reassures the market

Rumour and speculation arising from an investment conference followed by an online article that questioned to legality of licensing and other aspects of the successful and fast-growing Chinese sports lottery provider 500.com have prompted the company to issue a rebuttal as share prices declined.

500.com emphasised that:

* Full disclosure on its business and operations has at all times been made;

* It challenges allegations that its authority to operate is unclear;

* That the company has all necessary approvals, licensing and authority to operate from the Ministry of Finance of the People’s Republic of China, and is authorised to provide online sports lottery services on behalf of the China Sports Lottery Administration Center;

* This authorization can be confirmed through the MoF’s official website at the following link:
http://zhs.mof.gov.cn/zhuantilanmu/caipiaoguanli/201310/t20131030_1005120.html

The questions around 500.com were originally posed by Carson Block, presenting earlier this week at the Value Investing Congress.

Among the red flags on 500.com (according to Block) are complex tax status, with 72 percent of revenues last year coming from a tax benefit, employee bank accounts being used to collect winnings, and spurious claims of 20 million downloads of its app last quarter.

500.com refutes all of Block’s “unsubstantiated speculations,” the company said in a statement.