66 gaming
Taiwan lifts
casino ban
In January Taiwan’s parliament voted through a controversial
bill lifting a decades-old ban on casinos - despite protests
that gambling could lead to a decline in public morality
T
he ruling Kuomintang (KMT), who up to 50,000 jobs for Penghu residents, it esti-
dominate the legislature, pushed through mates.
the law at a vote of 71-26 allowing off- British developer AMZ Holdings Plc, a de-
shore islands to build casinos only if they are ap- veloper looking to establish a casino-hotel resort
proved by residents in referenda. on Penghu, said that it ‘has spent a considerable
‘This is one of the political agendas listed period of time assembling land in Penghu,’ ac-
on the campaign platform of President Ma Ying- cording to Dow Jones Newswires.
jeou last year,’ Kuomintang parliamentarian Lin ‘The company’s landholdings exceed the
Tsang-min said. initial indications for the minimum land require-
President Ma, who took office in May, must ment required for the successful application of a
sign the bill before it takes effect. gaming license, and the company’s property is
The Cabinet will set up a committee to work fully approved for the commencement of devel-
out detailed measures stipulating the governing opment of a resort,’ Dow Jones cited the com-
of casinos, such as the number and size of casi- pany as saying.
nos to be licensed and the minimum capital for However, the bill’s approval was not without
casinos. controversy.
The Kuomintang government said the move Outside parliament, dozens of demonstra-
would boost the income of the poor offshore is- tors, many of them Buddhist monks and nuns,
lands by attracting tourists. braved chilly winds and staged a sit-in protest.
‘It would certainly be a boost to the offshore ‘The bill is sure to pollute the people’s
islands’ competitive edge in tourism and land minds,’ a protester said.
development,’ Lin said, referring to Penghu, the The opposition Democratic Progressive
island group located in the middle of the Taiwan Party (DPP) ridiculed the Kuomintang govern-
Strait which is the most likely venue for the first ment’s hope of building Penghu into a gaming
casinos. hub to compete with Macau.
If the casinos are built there, Penghu would ‘First is gambling, then comes pornography
attract half a million tourist visits each year, gen- and crimes,’ DPP legislator Tien Chiu-chin said,
erating 100 billion Taiwan dollars (3 billion US) adding that ‘gambling is not likely to solve eco-
worth of revenues in gambling and tourism, ac- nomic problems’.
cording to an evaluation study prepared by Tai- Local media speculated whether the world’s
wan’s top economic planning body The Council casino giants would pour money into Penghu af-
for Economic Planning and Development. ter they were hammered elsewhere by the global
Casinos and related businesses could create financial crisis. AFP
No
T
he Director of the Gaming Inspection and Coordination bureau
Manuel das Neves is confident that the entry of Taiwan into the
regional gaming market will have little short term impact on Macau.
sweat
“In the short term, we expect no changes. even if the projects
are approved immediately, it takes time to build them and no
immediate changes are expected,’’ he said.
The opening of He says that Taiwan is one more competitor in the region, and
casinos in Taiwan
he believes that any impact will be felt in the middle or long term.
While gaming revenues are always important, Manuel das Neves
will mean more
says that Taiwan is not Macau’s main market and that local casinos
competition but
have many mainland areas to explore, with potential tourists and
only in the middle
clients for their hotels, casinos and malls.
at present in asia, gambling is legal in Macau, the Philippines,
to long term South Korea, Cambodia and Vietnam.
february 2009
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