PAGCOR studying e-sabong revival with better guidelines

The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) believes that it can implement better e-sabong or online sabong operations, an initiative that generated over P6 billion in revenues a year before it was banned during the Duterte administration.

PAGCOR chairman Al Tengco made the response after Agusan del Sur lawmaker Alfelito Bascug asked him in a hearing if the agency is still considering reviving e-sabong after it was stopped until a better set of framework and regulations are formulated.

“Is Pagcor still formulating this set of framework, or are we now content with letting revenue drain in this respect?” Bascug said.

Tengco replied by saying “I brought up this concern with Congress and the Senate, definitely, sayang din po ‘yung nawalang income, but then again, there were also social consequences. And I think that was the reason why the last administration totally stopped the operations.”

“Now, in relation to your next question, are we studying [reviving e-sabong]? Well, we have studied it and have a few suggestions, and we believe we can enhance the structure or the guidelines [that] were then before. But until a law or an order [from the] President of the Philippines comes out, our hands are tied,” he added.

He then revealed that Pagcor generated P6.2 billion worth of e-sabong revenues from April 2021 to April 2022 alone.

“By law, our gross revenues are given back to the National Treasury, to the Bureau of Internal Revenue, to the Philippine Sports Commission, to the Dangerous Drugs Board, to the Board of Claims, to the Universal Health Fund, and most recently to the Department of Energy for the Renewable Energy Trust Fund,” he said when asked where the P6.2 billion of e-sabong proceeds went.

Tengco earlier told the Senators that e-sabong operations continue despite the ban put in place by the previous administration.

"As of now, I think there is an ongoing study, primarily because, despite the ban that was made, if I'm not mistaken, sometime in May of 2022, e-sabong continues—I mean, candidly speaking, e-sabong still continues to proliferate," Tengco said.

"E-sabong is ongoing, and unfortunately, it is not being regulated...the sad part is that today, the government is not getting a centavo," he added.

Then President Duterte stopped e-sabong operations in May 2022  following the sudden disappearance of dozens of persons involved in the industry. 

Then President Dutetre also later apologized for allowing e-sabong operations that resulted in bettors finding themselves in heavy debt and cockfight enthusiasts getting abducted. —LDF, GMA Integrated News