Pagcor to bid out online gaming contracts

MANILA, Philippines – The state-owned gaming regulator Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) will bid out the service contract for its online gaming operations, particularly for the e-Games network, instead of automatically awarding this again to PhilWeb Corp., its top official said.

Pagcor chair and chief executive officer Andrea Domingo said the renewal process of PhilWeb’s intellectual property licensing and management agreement (IPLMA) as provider of the e-Games network will now have to go through competitive bidding.

“The selection of the service provider for Pagcor’s online gaming operations will be in accordance with Republic Act 9184, preferably through public bidding,” Domingo said.

Under RA 9184, or the Government Procurement Reform Act, there should be public bidding in the procurement of products and services by state agencies and government-owned corporations.

Merely renewing the IPLMA without going through RA 9184 is no longer feasible, Domingo said.

“The situation when the IPLMA was originally implemented by Pagcor and PhilWeb was essentially the lone service provider more or less a decade ago is no longer the same,” Domingo said in a letter to PhilWeb chairman Gregorio Araneta III, which the listed gaming company received on Dec. 22.

At the same time, Domingo gave assurance that Pagcor is expediting the procurement process.

PhilWeb’s IPLMA expired on Aug. 10 and the company is presently negotiating with Pagcor for the renewal of its license.

Pagcor stressed it cannot just automatically renew the license without going through a public bidding.

PhilWeb is now chaired by Araneta after businessman Roberto Ongpin sold his entire stake in the company – 771,651,896 shares, equivalent to 53.76 percent at a price of P2.60 per share or a total of P2.006 billion.

Ongpin resigned in August after President Duterte singled him out as “an oligarch that must be destroyed.”

The e-Games are internet cafés exclusively dedicated to casino games. With technology provided by PhilWeb, patrons can choose from more than 300 casino games, including baccarat, blackjack, various slot machine games, video poker and sports betting.

There are currently 268 operating e-Games cafés across the country, a majority of which are owned and operated by independent entrepreneurs.

Pagcor has also been tightening its noose on online gaming companies, particularly those unlicensed after President Duterte ordered the closure of online gaming entities, saying the government is not getting the proper amount of taxes from such operations.

“Imagine this… gambling here is taxable, but they are accepting bets outside of the country, which is not. And whatever contraband or gadget or computer, malinis ‘yun (it’s clean). They did not have taxes. They used that for several years,” Duterte said in a recent speech.

In Baguio City, residents are against the endorsement made by the city council approving an application for an electronic bingo outlet.

On Dec. 12, the city council approved the request of an e-bingo operator to manage an outlet in Maharlika Livelihood Center.

Several religious leaders rallied citizens to protest the approval, citing the anti-gambling policy of the local government.

“We feel that the City Council, by approving the issuance of permit or recommendation to Pagcor for e-bingo in the city, (runs counter) to improving the morals, health, comfort and peace in our beloved city,” said the group led by Bishop Carlito Cenzon and former city councilor Philian Louise Weygan.

The group also raised objections to the conduct of e-bingo or any form of gambling in any part of Baguio City, as it will continue to corrupt and degrade its residents. – With Artemio Dumlao