Premier Chang Chun-hisung (張俊雄) said yesterday that the Cabinet is planning to allow state-sponsored betting on baseball and other sporting events in an effort to raise more sports funds.
When attending a meeting held by the Council on Physical Fitness and Sports (體委會) yesterday, Chang said that the government plans to seek more funds for sports by launching a "sports lottery" (運動彩券). Proceeds from the lottery could be used to fund the development of sports in Taiwan.
Chang also said that he has ordered related government agencies to "fully cooperate with each other" on this matter, and that he hopes the plan will be approved by the legislature early next year.
In response to the suggestion, however, some lawmakers said that they had not heard of the plan and expressed their worries about its lack of complementary measures.
Gambling is illegal in Taiwan, but betting -- ranging from casual wagers by spectators to syndicates run by the underworld -- is rife in such sports as baseball, basketball, billiards and pigeon racing.
During last November's baseball World Cup held in Taiwan, bookmakers reportedly collected bets worth billions of New Taiwan dollars.
In a crackdown on illegal gambling four years ago, several leading professional baseball players were jailed for fixing games under threats from gang-linked bookmakers.
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