Inside Asian Gaming

October 2010 | INSIDE ASIAN GAMING 31 Feature been gambling away billions every year at casinos in neighbouring jurisdictions prior to the arrival of Marina Bay Sands and Resorts World Sentosa, it is far from clear that locals would permit the IRs to remain if the issue were put to a referendum tomorrow. The nays have it The Penghu islands were initially viewed as the front-runner in the race to host Taiwan’s first casino. On 26th September 2009, around 30,000 Penghu residents cast votes in a referendum on a proposal to develop two casino resorts there, and 56% of them voted ‘no.’ Penghu casino advocates claim a major reason for the ‘no’ vote was the central government’s failure to come up with detailed measures to counteract local concerns about the potential social ills created by the casinos. At least three years must pass before Penghu can hold another casino referendum. Admittedly, the Penghu pitch could have been much better. In Singapore, the government clearly spelled out the anticipated tourism, employment and GDP boosting benefits of the IRs well before construction began. The Singapore government also outlined specific measures to deal with any social problems that might arise, such as an increase in problem gambling. By contrast, no such detailed forecasts and measures were presented to Penghu residents. One Taiwanese provincial official who Penghu residents voted casinos out Kinmen spoke off the record said: “The average person does not know what the casinos will be like. In Singapore, the prime minister explained very clearly why the country has to have casinos and the impact. There are clear laws. But in Taiwan, there’s still a large degree of uncertainty.” The focus of Taiwan’s casino aspirations is now on Kinmen. The latter is considered a good site because its islands are nearer to Xiamen in Southeastern China than to the main island of Taiwan, and therefore seen as a good location to target visitors from mainland China. A group in Kinmen submitted a referendum application in August 2009. Approval of the referendum appears to have been held back, and in the meantime, the pro-casino lobby, including Mr King et al, have been working on an improved pitch to get locals on side. Mainland China Taiwan Taiwan Straits Lieyu Kinmen