The Cabinet on July 9 designated the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) as the competent authority for regulatory oversight of casino operations in Taiwan, following last Saturday's referendum in Matsu in which residents voted in favor of opening the nation's first casino resort on the outlying archipelago.
In addition to drafting a bill governing gambling affairs, the MOTC will coordinate with other government agencies to formulate plans on tourism development, casino supervision and investment cooperation.
The Cabinet meeting was co-chaired by Executive Yuan Ministers without Portfolio Luo Ying-shay and Yang Chiu-hsing. Participants included officials from the MOTC; the Ministry of the Interior; the Ministry of Finance; the Ministry of Justice; the Ministry of Economic Affairs; Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics; Directorate-General of Personnel Administration; the Council for Economic Planning and Development; the Research, Development and Evaluation Commission; the Council of Labor Affairs; the Public Construction Commission; the Financial Supervision Commission; and the MOTC's Tourism Bureau.
The Cabinet also reminded central and local government agencies to carefully consider the complementary measures for constructing such casino resorts, and to weigh the costs and benefits to the economy.