PAGCOR withholds winnings from minors, government workers

MANILA, Philippines — Unknown to the general public, the state-run Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR) enforces a hardline rule: winnings are forfeited once players are found to be minors or government officials.

PAGCOR chairman and chief executive officer Alejandro Tengco revealed this policy during yesterday’s budget hearing at the House of Representatives, where he informed lawmakers that not all players get their winnings because of their screening and detection systems.

“From January to June this year, we didn’t give the winnings to those whom we found out to be minors, and whom we later discovered were government employees,” he said.

At the same hearing, Tengco disclosed that a majority of online gambling transactions remain illegal, with around 60 percent traced to operators abroad, particularly in Cambodia, Singapore, the Middle East and Russia.

“It is lamentable that only 40 percent of our online gaming is legal. And 60 percent are illegal. These illegal online sites don’t operate here in the Philippines but abroad,” he told the committee.

According to Tengco, foreign operators entice Filipino players by offering excessive bonuses and no age restrictions.

“When you deposit P1,000 to an illegal operator, for example, they give more than four times, five times bonuses,” he explained.

To curb the problem, Tengco said PAGCOR is coordinating with the Department of Information and Communications Technology, the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center, the National Bureau of Investigation and the Philippine National Police.

Despite the high prevalence of illegal operators abroad, the PAGCOR chief also noted a sharp decline in online gambling transactions after the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) ordered e-wallet service providers to cut ties with online gambling platforms. –  Jose Rodel Clapano