Category: Marketing trend

The laws governing online gaming vary around the world. The following is the situation in some countries and regions:

United States: The United States has adopted strict supervision and restrictions on online gaming. Federal law prohibits the operation of online gambling in the United States, but states can decide whether to legalize online gambling. As a result, some states have legalized POGOs, but POGO operators need to be licensed by the local government.

Europe: Many countries in Europe have adopted an open attitude towards online gambling and established a sound regulatory mechanism. Some countries have also opened online gambling platforms to provide game lovers with a more convenient gaming experience.

China: China prohibits any form of online gaming activities, including online gaming peripheral support services. The authorities will crack down severely on people and companies involved in online gambling, and may even face legal prosecution.

Japan: Japan will officially open online gambling in 2022, but only limited to horse racing, boat racing, bicycles and casinos. Other forms of online gambling are still banned.

Generally speaking, the laws and regulations of online gaming vary from country to region. What about online gaming peripheral support services?
Because there are still many gray areas in Taiwan for online gaming peripheral support services, in order to reduce legal risks, the following measures are recommended:

1. Legal advice from lawyers to confirm the legality of the business model

2. A letter from the competent authority confirming whether the business can be legally registered and operated in Taiwan

3. The service contract signed with the online game operator is for self-insurance confirmation, the service object is only overseas legal online game, the company is an independent service provider...etc.

4. The online game manufacturer declares that it has obtained an overseas online game license, and that the game it engages in is an "overseas" online game.

5. The online game is outside the country, and the auxiliary evidence of the game is the evidence of the effort to follow the laws of Taiwan (such as the evidence that the website has blocked the IP from the Taiwan region.).

6. The employee handbook or work rules are used as evidence that Taiwanese laws have been followed to the best of their ability.

7. The qualified supplier certification of the foreign gaming authority as evidence of peripheral service providers approved by the foreign gaming authority

8. Other methods such as setting up KYC for players, due diligence, and setting up firewalls to separate operating entities are all a kind of supervision and responsibility.

 

Written by: Mark, Regional Director, Asia Pacific

Although Taiwan has legislated to legalize public welfare lotteries and sports lotteries, and Article 10-2 of the Outlying Islands Construction Regulations expressly stipulates that casinos can be set up in the outlying islands approved by the referendum in the form of international tourist resorts,
However, there are currently no tourist casinos, and the regulations of tourist casinos are as follows:

Sightseeing casinos are limited to outlying islands: According to Article 10-2 of the Outlying Islands Construction Regulations amended in 2008, sightseeing casinos can only be located on outlying islands that have passed the game referendum, and must be attached to the International Tourism Resort (Integrated Resort) in accordance with the Singapore model .

Game referendum results on outlying islands: From 2009 to 2017, a total of 4 game referendums were held (in Kinmen, Matsu, and Penghu). Only in 2012 in Matsu's game referendum passed.

Legislative progress: In 2009, the Ministry of Communications commissioned the drafting of regulations on the management of tourist casinos. Although the draft was reviewed and approved by the Executive Yuan in 2013, it has yet to be reviewed by the Legislative Yuan.

Therefore, no real sightseeing casino has been set up in Taiwan so far.

However, in this island, there is no specific gaming industry law, only the Criminal Law of Gambling. Except for sports lottery and public welfare lottery, other gambling activities are illegal:

(criminal law.266) A person who gambles with property in a public place or a place where the public has access shall be fined not more than 1,000 NTD. However, this does not apply to those who gamble with things for temporary entertainment.

(criminal law.266) Gambling equipment on the spot and property at the gaming table or exchange chip, regardless of whether they belong to the prisoner or not, shall be confiscated.

(criminal law.268) Those who intend to make profits by supplying gambling places or gathering crowds for gambling shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years and may be fined not more than 3,000 NTD.

Among them, the crime of profit-making gambling in criminal law .268 is applicable to online gaming operators!
"The crime of providing gambling venues for profit in the Criminal Law does not require that the venues be accessible to the public. It is the gambling venues, as long as there is a certain place for people to gamble and property.
It does not mean that there must be a certain space for people to go to.
Also considering the advances in technology today, telephone, fax, and the Internet can all be used as tools for conveying gambling information. Those who provide websites for people to gamble with subjective profit intentions are also a type of gambling establishments.
However, the only difference between signing gambling property in person and signing gambling property with a fax or phone number is only the difference in behavior..." (Criminal Judgment No. 323, Tainan Branch of the Taiwan High Court)
Therefore, we will see that casinos often restrict membership and will not allow you to directly see the page, which constitutes a non-public place and does not satisfy the provision of places.

In addition, Taiwan's criminal law only punishes crimes within the territory of the R.O.C., and crimes committed in other countries are not within the jurisdiction of Taiwan's criminal law; as long as the act or result of a crime is within the territory of the R.O.C., it is considered a crime within the territory of the R.O.C. The relevant provisions are as follows:

Article 3 of the Criminal Law: This Act shall apply to those who commit crimes within the territory of the R.O.C. A person who commits a crime on a ship or aircraft of the R.O.C outside the territory of the R.O.C. shall be regarded as committing a crime within the territory of the R.O.C.
Article 4 of the Criminal Law: If the act or result of a crime is within the territory of the R.O.C, it is a crime within the territory of the R.O.C.

So to extend an interesting topic;
Although overseas online games are gambling under the definition of criminal law, is it under the jurisdiction of Our criminal law?
Is the provision of overseas online gaming peripheral support services prohibited by the laws of our country?

At present, Taiwan's criminal law does not expressly stipulate whether the provision of such peripheral support services is legal.
The Ministry of Justice explained that if the behavior and results of the game do not occur in the territory of our country, the overseas online game activities are not subject to the jurisdiction of the criminal law.
Ministry of Economic Affairs: It has been confirmed that several overseas online game peripheral support services can be legally registered as companies, and there are types of industries that can be registered according to their nature.

However, according to current relevant judicial decisions, if online gaming meets the following four criteria, in principle, it will not be considered as gambling within the territory of the R.O.C., but as "overseas online gaming."

1. No operation in Taiwan

2. No players in Taiwan

3. No operating server in Taiwan

4. No cash flow in Taiwan

(Note, this is based on the results of the current judgment. Whether the law will be amended in the future or the judge will explain otherwise will not know whether the standard will change)
Since "overseas online gaming" is not a crime under the criminal law, providing peripheral support services for overseas online gaming companies in Taiwan, for the time being, can be said to "should" not constitute "assisting crimes".

I must emphasize that this is the current situation, and the judgments in recent years have gradually increased the scope of "assisting crimes". Don't try the law by yourself.

In the later period, I will also talk about the changes in judgments related to online gaming in recent years.

As a person with many years of experience in the industry, from an objective point of view, I will explain the current situation of this industry in Taiwan and discuss it at the legal level.
First of all, the game industry is an important industry that provides entertainment, and it also involves the gaming industry. This description is because gaming refers to related industries including betting, games, and gambling.
In Taiwan, the gambling industry is illegal, but the gaming industry is legal and has gradually become one of the main businesses of economic development, while the gaming industry can only be carried out in legal gaming establishments abroad.
The Taiwan government has strict legal supervision on the gaming industry, mainly because the Taiwan government believes that the gaming industry has a negative impact on social stability and economic prosperity, and can easily lead to problems such as gambling addiction, money loss, and crime.

On the contrary, the game industry is considered to be one of the most important growth points of Taiwan's economy. These game companies include: Garena, Soft-World etc., all have outstanding performance in the game industry.
Their success has not only created hundreds of millions of income, but also created a large number of employment opportunities for Taiwan.

Generally speaking, the Taiwan government has relatively strict legal control over the gaming industry, but is open to the game industry, which also reflects the government's different attitudes towards different types of industries.
In Taiwan, you can still see online gambling ads. What is the reason?
According to the relevant laws and regulations of Taiwan, unofficial gambling is illegal.
However, some underground gambling organizations still use various means to carry out gambling activities, such as online gambling, casinos, poker games, lotteries, etc.
These illegal gambling activities not only involve gamblers and gaming organizations, but may also involve the underworld, money laundering and other criminal activities.
In order to crack down on these illegal gambling activities, the Taiwan authorities have adopted severe measures, such as strengthening supervision, increasing law enforcement, fines and sentences.

 

In Asia, there are currently more than 10 countries/regions that have conditionally opened/legalized gaming, making it the largest gaming market in the world.
It can be roughly divided into the following two categories:
1. Land-based casinos: Singapore’s Integrated Resort (Integrated Resort) model is mostly adopted, that is, sightseeing casinos are attached to integrated entertainment cities with hotels, shopping malls, conventions and exhibitions, theaters, etc. Article 10-2 of my country's current outlying island construction regulations also adopts this model.
2. Sports betting/online gaming: It is an emerging field. At present, South Korea, Taiwan, Japan, Macau, and Vietnam have legalized sports betting; the Philippines, Cambodia, etc. have legalized offshore online gaming.

The international aspects can be roughly divided into:

1. Land-based casinos: Since Singapore opened the game in the IR mode in 2006, Asian countries have adopted the open game to promote tourism and economic development in recent years. The most famous recently is that Japan decided to open the game in 2017 in order to cooperate with the 2020 Tokyo Olympics ( Three casinos are scheduled to open, and have already attracted world-class gaming companies to participate in bidding, each with an investment of up to tens of billions of dollars).
2. Long-distance gaming: In addition to developing land-based casinos, Asian countries such as the Philippines  have legalized long-distance online gaming to compete for this big pie.

And Taiwan is:

1. Land-based casinos: Taiwan has amended Article 10-2 of the Outlying Islands Construction Regulations in 2008, allowing outlying islands approved by referendum to set up sightseeing casinos in the form of an integrated resort. Since 2010, commissioned by the Ministry of Communications to study the "Regulations on the Management of Sightseeing Casinos Attached to International Tourist Resorts", but due to social consensus, referendums on outlying islands and many other factors, the bill has not yet been passed.
2. Long-distance gaming: With the opening of long-distance online gaming in countries/regions such as the Isle of Man, the Philippines, and Malta, according to online reports, more than 30,000 young people in Taiwan have invested in the online gaming industry, and Taiwan has already There are a considerable number of overseas online gaming peripheral support service industries.

Today, the growth of global gaming is as follows:
1. The global gaming industry continues to grow, growing nearly 2.5 times from 2001 to 2018.
2. The output value of the global online gaming industry is estimated to reach US$55.79 billion in 2019 (accounting for about 10% of the overall gaming industry output value).
3. Asia has become the largest gaming market in the world, and its scale is growing year by year.

The legality of these related online gaming peripheral support service industries in Taiwan has always been an issue, and how these peripheral service industries, such as customer service companies, technology companies, and risk control companies, operate and are in harmony with Taiwanese laws. think about it.
The future will be divided into several stages to share with readers one by one.

The next article will also explain the global legalization of the gaming industry. I am the Asia Pacific Director Mark.
You are welcome to join me in discussing this controversial industry in detail.

Written by: Mark, Regional Director, Asia Pacific

The epidemic has had a certain impact on recruitment and the job market.

As the economy shrinks, many businesses have reduced hiring, making the talent market more competitive. At the same time, the epidemic has also made many people unemployed, which means that more job seekers will enter the market. These factors combine to make hiring more difficult, a market condition in which the labor market is oversupplied.

However, the impact of the pandemic on hiring has not been entirely negative. By working remotely, many companies have better access to a broader talent pool, thereby broadening their hiring base. Remote work also increases the options for companies to have more talent from around the world. At the same time, the epidemic has also accelerated digital transformation, allowing more companies to seek digital skills and more professional talents.

In general, although the epidemic has brought difficulties to the recruitment market, it has also created new opportunities and prospects for companies and job seekers.

As far as Southeast Asia is concerned, the impact of the epidemic on the economies and job markets of Southeast Asian countries is more significant. Tourism and manufacturing are the two major economic pillars of the region, which have been greatly affected by the epidemic. In terms of the job market, many companies have laid off employees due to reduced production capacity, and the unemployment rate in some areas has continued to rise. At the same time, many companies have begun to adopt remote work and digital transformation, which may bring some new job opportunities. As the epidemic is gradually brought under control, the Southeast Asian economy and job market are still expected to gradually return to normal.

The attribution of the recruitment problem can be as follows. Let's take the game industry as an example:

1. Fierce competition
As a particular industry develops, more and more companies enter the market and competition becomes more intense. This means that companies need to recruit employees with higher skills in order to keep the company ahead. Hiring has become more difficult due to increased competition and increased demand for highly qualified personnel.

2. Lack of skills
Certain industries, such as games, span many fields and require a variety of different skills. For example, game design requires strong aesthetic and technical skills, and digital marketing requires advertising, marketing and data analysis skills. As a result, companies often find it difficult to find talent with the skills they need.

3. Salary pressure
Due to fierce competition, companies usually need to offer higher salaries to attract and retain high-quality talents. However, it can also cause financial difficulties for the company. As compensation pressures mount, companies may find it difficult to recruit and retain talent.

4. Liquidity
Gambling, for example, is a highly liquid industry. Employees often leave their current positions in search of better opportunities. This means that companies need to constantly recruit new employees to fill vacancies, which is likely to cause companies to encounter recruitment difficulties.

5. Cultural adaptation
The gaming industry has its own unique culture, which can make the adjustment difficult for some.
It can be difficult to find someone who has both the required skills and the company culture, which is one of the reasons why hiring is difficult.

Ariel, HR Project Manager.