Hong Kong - Nearly half of Hong Kong women gamble regularly and 2 per cent of them are pathological gamblers, according to a survey released Monday.

Interviews with almost 1,500 women and teenage girls found that 48 per cent admitted to gambling regularly, compared to 35 per cent three years ago.

Playing the Chinese board game mahjong, card games and lotteries are the most popular form of gambling for women, researchers at a rehabilitation centre for problem gamblers found.

Similar surveys on Hong Kong men have found that more than 90 per cent take part in some form of gambling. Men tend to favour horse racing and visits to casinos in neighbouring Macau.

Betting on horse racing and soccer matches through the Hong Kong Jockey Club and a weekly government-run lottery are the only legal forms of gambling in Hong Kong.

However, the city of 6.9 million has a huge black market of underground bookmakers and syndicates running games for housewife gamblers to bet on. (dpa)