MANILA – Malacañang on Wednesday expressed optimism that the Philippine Amusement Gaming Corporation (Pagcor) will be able to identify new income streams after the directive of President Rodrigo Duterte to immediately halt e-sabong (online cockfighting) operations.
“Tiwala po kami sa kakayahan ng Pagcor (We trust Pagcor’s ability) to generate new revenues,” acting presidential spokesperson and Communications Secretary Martin Andanar said in a virtual press conference.
Andanar released the statement following the Pagcor projected a revenue loss of up to PHP5 billion from e-sabong activities for 2022.
Six companies have been allowed by Pagcor to operate e-sabong games as of March 2022.
Duterte, in a taped Talk to the People aired Tuesday morning, announced his decision to heed the recommendation of Local Government Secretary Eduardo Año to stop the e-sabong operations.
This, after Año conducted a survey on the “social impact” of e-sabong on the Filipino people.
Andanar stated that Malacañang’s Record Office has yet to issue an official document ceasing the e-sabong operations.
In a report submitted to Duterte, Año recommended halting the operations of the betting game “until a better set of framework and regulations are formulated, in such a way that it will not significantly harm any of the stakeholders and lead to the moral decay of society”.
After the new order of Duterte, Año directed the Philippine National Police and local government units to ensure the immediate halt in e-sabong activities nationwide.
Pagcor earns PHP650 million in revenue per month from e-sabong.
According to the data issued by Pagcor, the government collected around PHP3.69 billion from the gaming operations of eight e-sabong licensees from April to December 2021.
Meanwhile, there was a collection of around PHP1.37 billion from the operations of seven licensees from January to March 15, 2022.
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