Want to keep addicted kin from e-sabong? PAGCOR says report them

The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) has called on the public to report bettors who have become addicted to online cockfighting amid the rise of crimes related to e-sabong.

“Lahat ng mga pamilya na naapektuhan dito sa e-sabong nang hindi maganda kung pwede i-report sa amin at kung pwede ipa-ban nila yung tumataya sa kanilang pamilya,”  PAGCOR Chief Andrea Domingo said in Cedric Castillo’s report on “24 Oras”.

(All families negatively impacted by e-sabong can report to us and have their family members banned from betting.)

According to the regulator, a player exclusion page can be found on the PAGCOR website where users can report an addicted bettor and have them banned from any online or physical gambling sites regulated by the firm.

The requirements were also posted on the said page which included the application forms for self-exclusion (request to ban oneself) and family exclusion (request to ban a family member).

PAGCOR said reported bettors may be barred as long as the requestor could prove their ties.

“Pag binan namin sa e-sabong sa lahat ng casino banned na rin sya. Di na sya pwedeng pumasok at kung pwede bigyan ng litrato kasi yung mga na adik sa gaming kahit na i-ban namin gumagamit ng ibang pangalan at ibang ID,” said Domingo.

(Once we ban them from e-sabong, they are also prohibited from gambling in casinos. Photos should also be forwarded to us because some of those who were banned use another name or ID.)

Government revenue from e-sabong hit P2 billion this year alone, PAGCOR reported. 

Domingo proposed to have a separate agency that would regulate its operations.

There are seven accredited e-sabong operators in the country.

PAGCOR, however, admitted there were illegal operators including those used by overseas Filipinos.

“Wala kaming permits na binibigay na pwedeng tumaya ang offshore dito sa local na e-sabong. Kung tumataya ang mga workers natin halimbawa sa Saudi o sa ibang bansa, ilegal yon,” she said.

(We never issued permits allowing those offshore to bet in the local e-sabong. If an overseas worker is gambling — if from Saudi Arabia, for example — that means it is illegal.) —Sundy Locus/NB, GMA News