Taiwanese policymakers have introduced a series of amendments to strengthen the region’s regulation against gambling manipulation, also affecting the Taiwan Lottery.
According to the new provisions, anyone who interferes with events sanctioned under the Sports Lottery Issuance Act for personal gains will face up to 10 years of imprisonment.
Likewise, owners or employees of any sports team and providers of lottery games who do not cooperate to the desired extent in ongoing investigations will also face more severe punishments. The judicial procedures now fall under the remit of the Code of Criminal Procedure and the Criminal Code, rather than the Sports Lottery Issuance Act.
Cho Jung-tai, Taiwan’s assigned PM, further added that any surplus revenue generated by sports lottery sales will be used to develop the training of professional athletes and improve the overall state of its domestic sports, directly stated by the amendments in Article 21 and Article 21-1 of the Sports Lottery Issuance Act.
The updated framework forms part of the larger Sport Industry Development Act, and also affects the Taiwan Sports Lottery, which is under the control of the Ministry of Education’s Sports Administration.