"Don Corleone said quietly, `It is true I have many, many friends in politics, but they would not be so friendly if my business were narcotics instead of gambling. They think gambling is something like liquor, a harmless vice.'"
That comment by Mario Puzo's fictional godfather should serve to remind Taiwan's government of the always present and close ties between legalized gambling and organized crime. It should also serve to remind the general public that gambling is not "a harmless vice."
The idea of allowing legalized gambling in Taiwan has recently been in the news. Minister of Transportation and Communications Yeh Chu-lan (
This is not the first time that the government has considered gambling. Several years ago the Ministry of Justice looked into what impact legalized gambling would have on the criminal justice system. At that time the consensus was that the cost of legalization outweighed the benefits.
The situation has changed since then -- for the worse. Taiwan's economy is clearly in a downturn and the government is becoming increasingly desperate for a quick fix. One solution that is being considered is gambling. The best metaphor I can use to describe that solution is that it is like drinking seawater to assuage one's thirst. It looks tempting when one is very thirsty but it merely hastens your death. Legalized gambling will only speed up the death of an economy already in trouble.
The reasons for this are several, and they have been clearly shown by studies done on legalized gambling in different parts of the US. The US-based National Coalition Against Legalized Gambling makes these cogent arguments against legalized gambling:
1. The costs of gambling far outweigh the benefits. Studies conducted in several areas of the US where legalized gambling has been introduced show that for every dollar gambling produces for a regional economy, three dollars are lost on gambling's economic and social costs.
2. Gambling cannibalizes local businesses. A hundred dollars spent in a slot machine is a hundred dollars that is not spent in a local restaurant, theater or retail store. As Donald Trump told the Miami Herald, "People will spend a tremendous amount of money in casinos, money that they would normally be spend on buying a refrigerator or a new car. Local businesses will suffer because they'll lose customer dollars to the casinos."
3. Gambling triggers addiction. The more legalized gambling is available, the more addictive behavior is triggered. In 1989, only 1.7 percent of Iowa's adults were gambling addicts, but after riverboat casinos were legalized, the rate of addiction more than tripled to 5.4 percent.
The Florida Office of Planning and Budgeting conducted a study which concluded that the costs to government of gambling addiction far outweighed all revenues that might be generated by casino gambling.
4. Gambling attracts crime. A comprehensive report by the attorney general of Maryland concludes, "Casinos would bring a substantial increase in crime to our state. There would be more violent crime, more crimes against property, more insurance fraud, more white collar crime, more juvenile crime, more drug and alcohol-related crime, more domestic violence and child abuse and more organized crime."
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