Legislation

Taiwan – 2019 pencilled in for Taiwan casino

Politicians in Taiwan have predicted the islands’ first casino will be open within five years.

As it looks to take some of the Asian gambling spend in places like Macau, the Philippines and Singapore, the Taiwanese parliament could even give final approval to the Casino Management Act this month, according to sources close to the development. Approval would allow offshore islands under Taipei’s authority to accept bids for resort-casino projects as outlined in the act. Locals on Matsu have already voted in favour of operating casinos. The act though would detail how many casino resorts Matsu would be allowed.

Lin Kuo-shian, Director General of Taiwan’s transportation ministry department that oversees gaming, said; “Given that the act could be successfully passed in the beginning of year 2014, we optimistically expect that the earliest time the casino could open to public in Matsu is around 2019.”

Claremont Partners wants to develop a casino on the island of Penghu, however a referendum held in 2009 saw locals vote against a casino.  The company’s Carl Burger said: “Penghu very much remains a viable location. We anticipate that the supporting Taiwan legislation will finally pass in 2014 and set the stage for gaming operators and investors to enter a new Asian jurisdiction.”