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A sports lottery holds great benefits

`If we look at Hong Kong and Singapore, which rank first and second in the average amount spent on the lottery per person per year, we can get a glimpse into how much interest and involvement culturally Chinese people have in gaming.'

Since it was proposed and discussed during a national conference on the development of sports in 2002, Taiwan's policy on a sports lottery has been constantly monitored by the public.

After President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) ordered the plan to be implemented on April 19, 2004, the National Council on Physical Fitness and Sports proceeded to hold three public hearings on the sports lottery to hear different opinions about the initial form of the plan. In 2005 former Premier Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) decided to take the "Public Service Lottery issuing regulations" as the legal source for issuing the law.

Last year, then Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) proposed additional legislation to provide for the lottery's management and regulation.

In order to meet public expectations, to have careful distribution, and to promote the sports lottery in an appropriate manner, the Ministry of Finance and the National Council on Physical Fitness and Sports actively planned related measures to complement the plans, making the issuing of sports lottery tickets more concrete.

Thanks to the efforts of the related departments, the Ministry of Finance expects to be issuing sports lottery tickets by spring next year.

Currently there are 52 countries and 78 organizations issuing sports lottery tickets, and the average total sales per year are more than US$12 billion.

The benefits this brings about, in the form of sports popularity and economic benefits, are hard to estimate.

If we look at Hong Kong and Singapore, which rank first and second in the average amount spent on the lottery per person per year, we can get a glimpse into how much interest and involvement culturally Chinese people have in gaming.

In Taiwan, the debate on whether or not a sports lottery should be legalized has been going on for a long time. There are groups that support the idea and groups that oppose it, and each makes a strong case.

At the end of last year, the National Council on Physical Fitness and Sports carried out an opinion poll on sports lottery tickets. After it confirmed that more than 60 percent of the public is in favor of a sports lottery, the council formally proposed an application procedure for the issuing of sports lottery tickets at the end of last year.

This was done not only in the hope that it could infuse additional funds into sports budgets, provide substantial help in promoting sports, and diminish the social problem of illegal gambling by introducing a normalized, legal system.

It was also done in the hope that a sports lottery will be a catalyst for the sports industry, and that it will help bring about an environment of mutually beneficial, sustainable development.

I am confident about the future of the sport lottery tickets. Even though there are different points of view, we should still encourage dialogue and seek common ground.

I am not only looking forward to profits from the sports lottery being used for sports development, but I also hope that in the future I can see the entire country excited and enthusiastic about sports events.

Even more, I hope that Taiwanese society will enjoy a sports environment that is full of health, vigor, care and hope.

Chen Yue-hsin is former deputy chairman of the National Council on Physical Fitness and Sports.

Translated by Anna Stiggelbout
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