# Gambling laws **URL:** \ **Category:** General Legal Matters\ **Created:** [August 31, 2019, 3:24pm UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/gambling-laws/183280 "2019-08-31T15:24:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![brobronek](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/user_avatar/tw.forumosa.com/brobronek/32/174338_2.png) [@brobronek](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/brobronek)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2019, 3:24pm UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/gambling-laws/183280/1 "2019-08-31T15:24:26Z")
Hi Folks, What are the general laws regarding gambling business in Taiwan? What is the definition of gambling by law here? any link or info would be highly appreciated. Cheers ---
**Author:** ![Taiwan\_Luthiers](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/t/73ab20/32.png) [@Taiwan\_Luthiers](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/Taiwan_Luthiers)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2019, 4:03pm UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/gambling-laws/183280/2 "2019-08-31T16:03:49Z")
as far as I know it’s pretty much illegal but people gamble with Mahjong all the time, including police officers. In fact in the military they NEVER play the game without gambling. But they have special casino ships that sail out to the open sea where there’s no law prohibiting gambling… ---
**Author:** ![brobronek](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/user_avatar/tw.forumosa.com/brobronek/32/174338_2.png) [@brobronek](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/brobronek)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2019, 4:28pm UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/gambling-laws/183280/3 "2019-08-31T16:28:45Z")
Thanks what i am looking for is for the current written laws about gambling and how the word gambling is defined by law. If you have a link please share ---
**Author:** ![yyy](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/user_avatar/tw.forumosa.com/yyy/32/12085_2.png) [@yyy](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/yyy)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2019, 6:10am UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/gambling-laws/183280/4 "2019-09-01T06:10:02Z")
A search for “gambling” turns up [22 items](https://law.moj.gov.tw/ENG/Law/LawSearchResult.aspx?ty=ONEBAR&kw=gambling) in the MOJ’s laws & regulations database. A search for “賭” turns up [70 items](https://law.moj.gov.tw/Law/LawSearchResult.aspx?ty=ONEBAR&kw=%e8%b3%ad). The most important one is probably the [Criminal Code](https://law.moj.gov.tw/ENG/LawClass/LawAll.aspx?pcode=C0000001): > [@](#): > > **Chapter 21 Offenses of Gambling** > > **Article 266** > > A person who gambles in a public place or a place open to the public shall be sentenced to a fine of not more than one thousand yuan unless the item for which he gambles is one to provide temporary amusement. > > Gambling apparatus at the site found at the gambling table or place for exchange of gambling tokens shall be confiscated whether or not it belongs to the offender. > > **Article 267** > > (Deleted) > > **Article 268** > > A person who intend to make a profit furnishes a place to gamble or assembles person to gamble shall be sentenced to imprisonment for not more than three years; in addition thereto, a fine of not more than three thousand yuan may be imposed. > > **Article 269** > > A person who intent to make a profit operates a prize-giving savings business or issues lottery tickets without permission of the government shall be sentenced to imprisonment for not more than one year or short-term imprisonment; in addition thereto, a fine of not more than three thousand yuan may be imposed. > > An agent who acts as an intermediary in a prize-giving savings business or in the sale of lottery tickets as specified in the preceding paragraph shall be sentenced to imprisonment for not more than six months or short-term imprisonment; in lieu thereof, or in addition thereto, a fine of not more than one thousand yuan may be imposed. > > **Article 270** > > A public official who harbors a person who commits an offense specified in this Chapter shall be subject to the punishment prescribed for such an offense by increasing it up to one half. ETA: for the jurisprudence on where they draw the line between gambling and just having fun, I would search for Supreme Court cases and CJG (大法官會議) interpretations involving 賭 at [https://law.judicial.gov.tw/](https://law.judicial.gov.tw/). ---
**Author:** ![tempogain](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/user_avatar/tw.forumosa.com/tempogain/32/264650_2.png) [@tempogain](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/tempogain)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2019, 6:16am UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/gambling-laws/183280/5 "2019-09-01T06:16:06Z")
> [@](#): > > **Article 266** > > A person who gambles in a public place or a place open to the public shall be sentenced to a fine of not more than one thousand yuan unless the item for which he gambles is one to provide temporary amusement. “but your honor, I was going to use all my winnings on coke and hookers, honest” ---
**Author:** ![brobronek](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/user_avatar/tw.forumosa.com/brobronek/32/174338_2.png) [@brobronek](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/brobronek)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2019, 7:46am UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/gambling-laws/183280/6 "2019-09-01T07:46:58Z")
thanks a lot. have some reading to do. ---
**Author:** ![brobronek](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/user_avatar/tw.forumosa.com/brobronek/32/174338_2.png) [@brobronek](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/brobronek)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2019, 2:48am UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/gambling-laws/183280/7 "2019-09-28T02:48:46Z")
new laws in the making Taiwan want to criminalize online gamblers > **[Taiwan Set to Criminalize Online Gambling with Law Changes](https://www.vegasslotsonline.com/news/2019/09/22/taiwan-set-to-criminalize-online-gambling-with-law-changes/)** > > Authorities in Taiwan are looking to update current gambling legislation by introducing fines of up to $1,600 for anyone who is caught gambling online. some quotes from the article: "Authorities believe that online gambling causes significant family and social problems " "If this change is approved, it would mean that it would be a criminal offense for any Taiwan citizen to gamble through “telecommunications equipment, electronic communications, internet or other similar means.” ---
**Author:** ![RickRoll](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/user_avatar/tw.forumosa.com/rickroll/32/180921_2.png) [@RickRoll](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/RickRoll)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2019, 5:24am UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/gambling-laws/183280/8 "2019-09-28T05:24:39Z")
> [@brobronek](#): > > "If this change is approved, it would mean that it would be a criminal offense for **any Taiwan citizen** to gamble through “telecommunications equipment, electronic communications, internet or other similar means.” So, are foreigner residents excluded? ---
**Author:** ![brobronek](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/user_avatar/tw.forumosa.com/brobronek/32/174338_2.png) [@brobronek](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/brobronek)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2019, 5:56am UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/gambling-laws/183280/9 "2019-09-28T05:56:00Z")
> [@RickRoll](#): > > So, are foreigner residents excluded? the main thing is that they keep the law as unclear as possible. So it literally depends on the judge you are facing. ---
**Author:** ![Taiwan\_Luthiers](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/t/73ab20/32.png) [@Taiwan\_Luthiers](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/Taiwan_Luthiers)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2019, 6:01am UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/gambling-laws/183280/10 "2019-09-28T06:01:17Z")
So the question is, how would they enforce the law? Do they scan online gambling sites and IP trace everyone? Taiwan gambling laws are full of loopholes. Technically those claw machine is gambling but what they do is they set a “guaranteed prize” so if you put in x amount of dollars you’re guaranteed to get a prize. So they can’t say it’s “gambling”. Those prize is so cheap that the cost is probably a few NT, and the guaranteed price is something like 1000nt. ---
**Author:** ![brobronek](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/user_avatar/tw.forumosa.com/brobronek/32/174338_2.png) [@brobronek](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/brobronek)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2019, 6:07am UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/gambling-laws/183280/11 "2019-09-28T06:07:22Z")
true. The main issue they encountered is that they have arrested people gambling online and because of lack of clarity in the laws, these dude went free. So after the judge repeatedly lost face ( many many times) he decided enough is enough and ask legislators to update that article so that he can keep prosecuting people for doing what they LOVE to do… gambling ---
**Author:** ![Taiwan\_Luthiers](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/t/73ab20/32.png) [@Taiwan\_Luthiers](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/Taiwan_Luthiers)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2019, 6:14am UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/gambling-laws/183280/12 "2019-09-28T06:14:34Z")
How do people get arrested gambling online? Did the police just come in with a warrant? Do they browse online gambling sites and IP tag anyone with a Taiwanese IP and then go and serve a warrant? Or were the people arrested running online gambling sites? ---
**Author:** ![junoreactor](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/j/8e8cbc/32.png) [@junoreactor](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/junoreactor)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2019, 11:12am UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/gambling-laws/183280/13 "2019-09-28T11:12:57Z")
> [@Taiwan\_Luthiers](#): > > So the question is, how would they enforce the law? > > Do they scan online gambling sites and IP trace everyone? Probably. Just use a VPN anyway. ---
**Author:** ![junoreactor](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/j/8e8cbc/32.png) [@junoreactor](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/junoreactor)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2019, 11:15am UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/gambling-laws/183280/14 "2019-09-28T11:15:46Z")
> [@RickRoll](#): > > > [@brobronek](#): > > > > "If this change is approved, it would mean that it would be a criminal offense for **any Taiwan citizen** to gamble through “telecommunications equipment, electronic communications, internet or other similar means.” > > So, are foreigner residents excluded? I doubt they are excluded, as long as they reside here, short term or long term (ARC or student visa). They wouldn’t bother students though, but ARC holders should be careful. ---
**Author:** ![BiggusDickus](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/user_avatar/tw.forumosa.com/biggusdickus/32/90381_2.png) [@BiggusDickus](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/BiggusDickus)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2019, 11:16am UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/gambling-laws/183280/15 "2019-09-28T11:16:15Z")
Other than peeking through people’s windows, they can only catch the idiots who don’t know what they’re doing. So, we have yet another unenforceable law. ---
**Author:** ![RickRoll](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/user_avatar/tw.forumosa.com/rickroll/32/180921_2.png) [@RickRoll](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/RickRoll)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2019, 11:17am UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/gambling-laws/183280/16 "2019-09-28T11:17:13Z")
> [@junoreactor](#): > > They wouldn’t bother students though, but ARC holders should be careful. Students also have ARC, you know? ---
**Author:** ![junoreactor](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/j/8e8cbc/32.png) [@junoreactor](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/junoreactor)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2019, 11:18am UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/gambling-laws/183280/17 "2019-09-28T11:18:22Z")
> [@RickRoll](#): > > > [@junoreactor](#): > > > > They wouldn’t bother students though, but ARC holders should be careful. > > Students also have ARC, you know? Ok didn’t know that, anyway for short term stays I doubt you’ll be in trouble. ---
**Author:** ![junoreactor](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/j/8e8cbc/32.png) [@junoreactor](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/junoreactor)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2019, 11:22am UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/gambling-laws/183280/18 "2019-09-28T11:22:33Z")
The next step they can do is to force websites to refuse registrations from Taiwan, many big betting companies now refuse residents of USA, Canada, France, Germany etc. but these processes are usually slow, so we are good for a while. ---
**Author:** ![Zapman](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/z/67e7ee/32.png) [@Zapman](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/Zapman)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2019, 2:07am UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/gambling-laws/183280/19 "2019-09-29T02:07:13Z")
What about sports betting at that yellow Taiwan Lottery places? That is also gambling right? ---
**Author:** ![Taiwan\_Luthiers](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/t/73ab20/32.png) [@Taiwan\_Luthiers](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/Taiwan_Luthiers)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2019, 2:21am UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/gambling-laws/183280/20 "2019-09-29T02:21:04Z")
lottery is different… it’s government sponsored gambling. [Next page](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/gambling-laws/183280.md?page=2)