Taiwan Bans Online Gambling

After a spate of nations in Asia banning online gambling, it looks Taiwan has finally joined in. the company looks set to crack down on online gambling across 2019 and into the next year. The new laws have been input place after an earlier draft was successful in getting through. The aim was simple: to make the act of gambling online a criminal offence. This is also going to see higher penalties placed on gamblers who are caught flaunting the rules and gambling online.

The Ministry of Justice has pushed their September 10^th draft amendment forward. The amendment, which covered Article 266 of the Taiwan Criminal Code, means that anyone who is caught using “telecommunications equipment, electronic communications, internet or other similar means” to bet could be hit with a fine of NT$50,000.

The amendment is likely to go through, and it’s going to close one of the few loopholes in the Thai legal system. This would mean that local authorities would find it much easier to push forward with punishment for anyone who is caught gambling. At the moment, the law simply states that anyone who is caught in a public place or a place open to the public could be censored for their actions.

The fine at the moment is around NT$1,000. Naturally, then, a fine of 50x the severity and also the fact that it will now mean that online gambling is banned in all places, not just public places, will likely force people to fall in line.