TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Taiwan's legislature took decisive action against sports corruption Tuesday (June 17), passing sweeping amendments to the Sports Lottery Issuance Act (運動彩券發行條例) that establish harsh criminal penalties for individuals who manipulate or compromise athletic competitions. The long-awaited legal reforms represent Taiwan's most aggressive attempt to combat match-fixing and gambling-related corruption that has periodically plagued the island's professional sports leagues, particularly baseball, which holds cultural significance comparable to America's relationship with the sport.
The newly enacted legislation establishes a stringent punishment framework targeting anyone who employs violence, intimidation, fraudulent schemes, financial inducement, or other unlawful tactics to compromise sporting events. Convicted offenders now face prison sentences ranging from one to seven years, coupled with substantial financial penalties between NT$10 million and NT$30 million (approximately US$339,600 to US$1.02 million). The law reserves its most severe sanctions for cases where corruption activities lead to fatalities, authorizing life imprisonment or minimum seven-year sentences alongside elevated fines between NT$20 million and NT$50 million (about US$679,200 to US$1.7 million).
Legislators simultaneously restructured the legal framework for handling uncooperative sports industry participants, eliminating administrative fines previously imposed on team operators, lottery issuers, and employees who obstructed corruption investigations. These cases will now proceed directly through Taiwan's mainstream criminal justice system under the Code for Criminal Procedure (刑事訴訟法) and the Criminal Code (刑法), signaling parliament's determination to treat sports corruption with the same gravity as other serious offenses. Legal experts note this procedural shift represents a significant escalation in how authorities can pursue and prosecute individuals suspected of involvement in manipulating sporting outcomes.
The legislative reforms come against a backdrop of recurring corruption scandals that have periodically rocked Taiwan's professional sports landscape, particularly damaging the reputation and fan trust in the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL, 中華職棒), the island's premier baseball organization established in 1989. The most notorious case emerged when Chou Szu-Chi (周思齊), one of Taiwan's celebrated baseball stars who retired in 2022, publicly disclosed that organized crime figures had threatened and coerced him into participating in game-fixing schemes earlier in his career, highlighting the intersection between criminal enterprises and vulnerable athletes in Taiwan's sports ecosystem. ◼