Gambling in Taiwan

This caused some people to become robbers and others to even sold their daughters to brothels to pay their gambling debts.Thereafter, Taiwanese authorities began introducing a range of restrictions on gaming, including an attempted (but ultimately failed) ban in 1897.

[3] Introduced in 1935, the Criminal Code of the Republic of China prohibited both public gambling and the provision of venues for gamblers to assemble (e.g., casinos).

[4] According to the deputy commander for technology at the Criminal Investigation Division of Keelung City;[8] The abundance of illegal gambling websites also proved difficult to crack down upon due to their high mobility, let alone the legal websites, which have resulted in many social problems as gamblers do not know whom to seek help from for their addictions.In 2003, the Criminal Investigation Bureau announced it was referring 300 Taiwanese customers of the United Kingdom–based online gaming site, Sportingbet, for prosecution.

[9] In February 2013, authorities revealed they were investigating claims that desperate gamblers, looking for any opportunity to place bets, had established a betting-ring so they could wager on the life expectancy of terminally ill cancer patients.

[13] In 2013, Green Party Taiwan central executive committee member and candidate, Pan Han-shen, published a scathing opinion-editorial piece in the Taipei Times claiming that proposed casinos, if built, would become "cess pools" of corruption that would encourage money laundering.

[6] Since the announcement of the most recent proposals, Premier, Jiang Yi-huah, has reaffirmed his view that any move to legalize gambling on mainland Taiwan would require a "national consensus".

[17] But his proposal has drawn some criticism after he suggested that plans for the casino (along with local infrastructure funding) might be withdrawn if the Government of Taiwan does not move quickly enough to amend laws as necessary.

[18] In 2013, at the celebration for Chinese New Year, tycoon Terry Gou proposed the development of a Las Vegas-style casino industry in New Taipei City and additional "convention and exhibition facilities" in the Tamsui District.