The baseball game-fixing scandal has led to renewed calls for legalizing gambling on sports to allow for open regulation of the practice.
There have been reports that the Executive Yuan is expediting the establishment of a sports lotto, and the Ministry of Finance has taken the initiative in drawing up the necessary proposal. Supporters say that such a lotto program will bring many benefits, but is this really the case? Is Taiwan really ready for a sports lotto?
Last year, President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) suggested that the time was ripe for a sports lotto. Moreover, many people in the sports industry believe that the revenue from a lotto program can be used to improve the sports environment, creating more interest in sports and building up the industry.
While this might be the case, raising money in this manner can also bring about many undesirable side effects, and these too need to be considered.
Let's take a look at the US, which can be said to lead the world in both sports and in gambling. The US does indeed lead the world in terms of legalized gambling, the number of people who gamble and the sheer amount of money that changes hands. Of the 50 states, 28 have legalized casinos, 37 have lotteries and 43 have parimutuel betting on horse and dog racing. There are only two states, Hawaii and Utah, where gambling is totally illegal.
But what most people do not know is that this "king of gambling nations" does not have a sports lotto. In fact, the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 specifically forbids sports being made the target of any form of betting, lottery or sweepstakes. Sports gambling is only legal in Nevada, the home state of anything-goes Las Vegas. And the reasons for that are very simple: to protect sports culture and business.
Moreover, if there are more opportunities for gambling, or venues for gaming proliferate, the numbers of people gambling will also increase.
Having fanned the flames of gambling, is it reasonable for the government to then call on people to purchase sports lottery tickets with reasonableness, restraint and moderation?
If we look at how the money earned by the current lotto is used, we can see that although the money was originally designated for disadvantaged groups, the only people who have really benefited are the distributors.
Over the last six years, much of the funds raised by the lotto have been diverted to other uses outside the scope of the bill that established the lotto, which gave it a social welfare purpose.
There have been many such reports, but the situation has not improved.
Figures clearly show that profits from the lotto have more often than not been used as "pocket money" for county and city governments, and that those for whom the lottery was originally set up are not getting any benefit.
For all of these reasons, it seems unlikely that the optimistic predications made by those who support the sports lottery will be realized.
Yeh Chih-kuei is an associate professor in the department of sports and leisure studies at National Dong Hwa University.
Translated by Ian Bartholomew
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