Taiwan Needs a Gambling Zone?

張貼日期：Oct 19, 2021 6:33:22 AM

Naomi Ren

Nowadays, many popular sightseeing spots are promoting gambling tourist attractions, such as Macau and Singapore. Macau has also become the “Las Vegas of the East”. In Taiwan, Matsu and Penghu held a referendum on the gambling zone in 2012 and 2016 respectively. Only Matsu had more than half of the favorable votes, but till now there is still no gambling zone. Does Taiwan really need a gambling zone? I don’t think Taiwan needs a gambling zone because a gambling zone will worsen public security, cause value deviation in morality and ethic, and raise the local house and commodity prices.

First of all, opening a casino will worsen public security. If gamblers have no money to gamble, they may end up with the risks of robbery, crime and suicide. For example, the crime rate in Las Vegas is 120.46% more than that in other states in the United States, including serious crimes such as murder, rape and robbery. Once, Nevada, where Las Vegas is located, was listed as the most dangerous state in the United States by Morgan Quinto Press. In addition, the casino may become a gathering place for large organized crimes because it can quickly get huge wealth. In light of the likelihood of increasing crime rate, I don’t think it is good for Taiwan to have casinos.

Furthermore, the establishment of a gambling zone will cause value deviation in work ethics in particular and morality in general. Many people may choose not to work and study hard because of the benefits of gambling. Some teenagers even enter the casino because of curiosity and rebellion. When they find the benefits of gambling, they will think that they can earn money without hard work. On the other hand, the salary of working in the casino may be high, which makes youngsters feel that it does not matter if there is no adequate educational background. The salary of a casino’s dealer is 50,000 to 80,000 NT dollars in Macau. However, the knowledge level of a dealer is generally low. The government should spend more money on education to encourage young people to extend their learning in either school or workplace.

Although the gambling zone can bring crowds, it will also trigger the rising of local house and commodity prices. Since Macau had casinos, the average income of the people has tripled; at the same time the house and commodity prices have also risen rapidly. Even some small and medium enterprises were facing bankruptcy because they could not afford the consequences of rapid economic growth. In Macau, the price of a bowl of Cantonese congee is 250 NT dollars, which is two to three times of the price in Taiwan. The rise of the house and commodity prices has also gradually enlarged the gap between the rich and the poor in Macau, which will become a serious problem over time.

In my opinion, Taiwan does not need legal casinos because they are likely to worsen public security, cause value deviation in work ethics and social morality, and raise the local house and commodity prices. Although casinos may boost the tourism industry in Taiwan, we cannot ignore the serious potential problems behind the gambling industry. Moreover, the location for the casino in Taiwan is also a problem that must be carefully considered. To sum up, I think Taiwan does not need a gambling zone.