Wei Ming-ku, commissioner for Changhua County, the most populous county in Taiwan, is advancing a novel argument in support of legal gambling in the vicinity. He says gambling keeps old people from going senile.
According to the website Yogonet.com, the commissioner is supported in that view by Wang Wen-fu, director of Changhua County Christian Hospital’s department of psychiatry, who cited the example of a 94-year-old Yongjinh Township woman who gambles daily and remains active and coherent.
Wang Wen-fu said playing chess, mahjong and cards gives elderly people goals to pursue, which helps stimulate brain function and delay the onset of dementia.
But Minister without Portfolio Hua Ching-chun said legal gaming would be a hard sell in Taiwan, which currently allows wagering only on national and sports lotteries.
