According to reports from Taiwan, the residents of the outlying islands may have the opportunity to vote again on if the area will provide casino gaming. The Referendum Screening Committee has approved a proposal that will hold a referendum in early 2016.

Residents would be able to cast their vote during the January 16th election for president as well as before the presidential inauguration which takes place on the 20th of May. The proposal for the referendum will move to the Cabinet where it will be screened by the premier.

If the proposal is approved, signatures will need to be collected to add the casino property in areas such as Penghu, which rejected a casino proposal in 2009, while residents of Kinmen and Matsu voted to allow casino gaming. Groups in support of Penghu gaming will need to have signatures from the population of just over 82,000 that results in 5% of this number to be eligible for a vote in the area.

If the referendum is up for vote in 2016, this would mark almost 7 years since the very first referendum was held in the area. In 2009, voters were not in favor of the referendum for casino resorts and shot down the proposal. It was in 2009 that Taiwan officials lifted the probation period of fifteen years on gambling on the outlying islands which included Penghu.

In May of this year, legislators for Taiwan’s Kinmen Island,  less than 10 kilometers away from China’s Fujian province, began discussions to allow casino gaming. They were quickly warned by the Mainland that favorable economic polices toward the island could be changed and that visa policy would likely be changed to keep Chinese citizens from visiting the island.