Taiwan Today

The Tourism Bureau under the Ministry of Transportation and Communications will open bids for a consulting company to advise on establishing Taiwan’s gaming industry. Chang Shi-chung, director of the Technical Division of the Tourism Bureau, said bidding will begin June 29 and proposals must be submitted before the end of the year. Plans should address such questions as minimum investment levels, the scale of operations, review mechanisms, and how the consulting company intends to communicate with potential international investors. Most importantly, the proposals need to state how the Penghu gaming villa will be defined, and how it will be distinguished from other gaming resorts in neighboring regions such as Macau, South Korea and Singapore. Only after these questions are answered can it be determined how many gaming licenses will be issued. Last week the Executive Yuan designated the MOTC as the agency in charge of gaming industry. At the same time, the Executive Yuan stated that the casinos must be established within the designated international tourist area. The Council for Economic Planning and Development under the Executive Yuan has suggested that in the beginning no more than two casino licenses should be issued, and that a third one should not be issued within the first ten years. The scale of investment for the international tourist resort should be at least US$1 billion, it says. After the MOTC was designated agency in charge of the gaming industry, it created a Gambling Supervisory Commission as well as a working task force to consider relevant matters. Since the casinos and the tourist villa will involve questions having to do with public security, personnel, financial matters, and even legal questions related to money laundering, the Gambling Supervisory Commission will include officials from eight different agencies, including the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the Ministry of Justice, the Financial Supervisory Commission and the Council of Labor Affairs. Because most Taiwanese have very little knowledge of the gaming industry, the MOTC plans to hold classes for its task force members. It is considering extending invitations to casino administrators and managers to come to Taiwan to conduct ‘gambling lessons’, and to speak of the various problems associated with legalized gambling. The courses will address such basic questions as the impact of casinos on society, the rules and regulations under which casinos operate in different nations, invitations for bids, the issuing of gaming licenses, and so on. (HZW)