Taiwan to discuss casino bill next month

“Taiwan will have local elections on November 29. After that, lawmakers have to go back to work and review the bills with higher priority, including the casino draft law,” Liu Day-Yang director of the Centre for the Study of Lottery and Commercial Gaming at the National Taiwan University of Science and Technology,said.

The first step happened in 2009 when the Chinese territory lifted a 15-year prohibition. In 2012, residents of Matsu took things a step further when it voted to allow casinos on the island to help drive up its tourism industry.

 In the first 15 years of those licenses, operators are obligated to pay a 7% tax to the local government on top of a 7% national tax. From years 16 to 25, the national tax would increase to 8% before increasing to 9% in the last five years of its eligibility. Liu also added that a number of foreign operators have already expressed interest in making a bid for any of the casino licenses the government plans to issue.

“I believe the Matsu county legislator will try to push for the bill to be passed,” he said. “In the most optimistic scenario, the draft law could be passed in the first half of 2015,” Liu added.

The bill’s passing was said to be highly dependent on the results from the elections. Dr. Liu pointed out that the Democratic Progressive Party is likely to give its consent to the draft, since it will only allow the construction of gambling venues on islands of Kinmen, Matsu, and Penghu. Thus, their economies and tourism will be enhanced due to the increased number of visitors and new jobs will be created.