Gaming corporation asks SC to review implementing law on STL operations

A local gaming corporation on Wednesday questioned before the Supreme Court (SC) the constitutionality of a provision in the guidelines covering small town lottery operations being run by the Philippine Charity Sweeptakes Office (PCSO).

Taal Balisong Gaming Corporation (TBGC), an STL applicant, filed the petition as it assailed Section 44 of the 2016 Revised Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) for STL Operations.

Section 44 provides that all existing STL Authorized Agent Company as of October 1, 2016 shall have the "right to match" the Presumptive Monthly Retail Receipts (PMRR) offered by other interested applicants in their area of operation in the event that PCSO opens the said area/s to other applicant/s.

The TBGC said the PCSO Board "grossly violated" its right to equal protection of the law and "unduly stifled" competition in the STL business when it allowed Batangas Enhanced Technology Systems, Inc. (BETSI), an authorized agent corporation in the province, to match its PMMR. 

The TBGC claimed it had a PMMR of P124 million as against BETSI's P103 million.

Apart from nullifying Section 44 of the IRR, the company also asked the court to set aside any contract that may have been entered into and between the PCSO and BETSI in connection with the renewal of authority to operate STL in Batangas.

The PCSO expects to collect around P27 billion in revenues this year with the expansion of the operation of the STL, which is now present in 56 areas nationwide. — BAP, GMA News