Ruling party opposition helped
On October 28, residents of Kinmen Island off the coast of Taiwan said a decisive “no” to legislation that would bring casinos to the area.
According to the Asia Gaming Brief, the referendum asked residents if they supported development of an “international holiday resort complex” with 5 percent of its space designated for gambling. A total of 24,368 people voted “no,” with just 2,705 people voting “yes.” The referendum turnout was reported to be just under 24.2 percent, reported GGRAsia.
It was the fourth time a casino referendum was held on Taiwan’s outlying islands. Matsu held a referendum in July 2012, with residents voting in support of casinos. That’s as far as it went, as the lack of national legislation on casino regulations stalled progress. Two referendums took place in Penghu in 2009 and 2016, and in each instance voters turned thumbs down. In the 2016 referendum, 81 percent of votes cast opposed the proposition.
It’s likely the administration Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen wouldn’t expend any effort to pass enabling legislation for any casinos on Kinmen.
Kinmen County Commissioner Chen Fu-hai voted against the measure, saying, “Gambling is not the only option for Kinmen.” And KMT Legislator Yang Chen-wu told the Taipei Times the “no” vote “showed that Kinmen folks were thinking about development in the long term, instead of being shortsighted and allowing themselves to be lured by profits close at hand.”
Some gentle persuasion by the Taiwan government also may have helped. Bloomberg News said the Kinmen vote “echoes the ruling party’s opposition to gambling.” And the day before the referendum, the Xiamen Daily published an opinion piece by the government of the republic criticizing gambling.
Ho Tsung-hsun, of the Alliance against the Legalization of Gambling, said the government stance helped, along with more organized opposition and a conservative populace. In addition, many young Kinmen residents are worried about casinos driving up home prices, Ho said.
CalvinAyre.com reports there has been little interest in the locale among global gaming operators due to a lack of critical infrastructure, “which would add hundreds of millions if not billions of dollars” to the cost, and a concern that Chinese gamblers might be banned from traveling to the region.
Ho has called on the Democratic Progressive Party to abolish Article 10-2 of the Offshore Islands Development Act which governs the establishment of casinos to free the islands from the “threat” of future referendums.
