Describing proposed legislation to license casinos as a ‘get-rich-quick scheme, Palau’s president Johnson Toribiong disagrees that gambling will attract investment and diversify tourism offerings. In a letter to the national legislature, the president said the controversial bill was a rushed, confusing and not well-thought out piece of legislation that he has vetoed.

Early in 2007 ‘financial incentives’ were said to have been offered by a Korean businessman to local politicians to support casino legislation. This followed a scandal the previous year involving a Malaysian company and the state governor of Pelelieu Island and allegations of bribery over plans to develop a gambling centre. In May this year the House of Delegates passed the third and final reading of the Palau Gaming Control Act of 2009, designed to permit controlled gaming in Palau and to establish the Palau Gaming Control Commission.

Maintaining that the bill appeared to benefit casino operators rather than local people, the president of the archipelago in the Pacific Ocean noted that under the proposed legislation Palauans would be able to gamble. He added that the presence of casinos could detract from the reason tourists presently choose Palau for vacationing.

The Republic of Palau, comprised of 16 states, is one of the world's youngest and smallest sovereign states. The archipelago has variously been under Spanish, German, Japanese and US administration. About two-thirds of the population live on the isand of Koror. Palau’s economy is supported mainly by tourism and is one of the world’s best diving destinations. According to the tourism board, ‘ Forests, waterfalls and caves that have never been ravaged by man, and hundreds of islands of the purest beauty abound all along our pristine archipelago.’ (E-12.04.09)

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