Pagcor list of restricted casino players hacked

MANILA, Philippines —  The national database containing 500,000 names barred from playing in casinos has been hacked, Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR) chairman and CEO Alejandro Tengco revealed yesterday.

In a radio interview, Tengco said the hacking of the national database, which is shared with all licensed and PAGCOR-operated casinos, was discovered yesterday afternoon.

“The list, the national database for restricted persons, came from PAGCOR. It’s homegrown,” Tengco said in Filipino.

“More or less 500,000 names, and it’s continuously being updated. We also share that – definitely we have to share that with our licensed casinos, we have to give this notice,” he explained.

Tengco said the database contains the names of individuals who had either personally requested, or whose relatives had requested, to be banned from casinos due to suspected or confirmed gambling addiction.

Also included in the list are top-level government officials.

“We give them to all our licensed casinos and those PAGCOR-owned so that they implement the ban on these people,” Tengco said.

“We’re looking at the possibility that the hacking or leak came from one of our licensed casinos,” Tengco said. “Hopefully, I am hoping that we get (confirmation) within the next 24 hours.”

Government officials

Meanwhile, concerns over casino integrity resurfaced after revelations involving Bulacan district engineers of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) implicated in ghost flood control projects.

At a recent hearing, relieved district engineer Henry Alcantara said they were issued VIP IDs by a casino, which facilitated their entry and illegal play, despite the prohibition on gambling by government officials and employees.

Tengco said they were probing this claim, stressing that large signages at casino entrances clearly state the ban.

“This is not just a PAGCOR rule, but there is a Presidential Decree stating that no one serving in government should enter and play in any casino within the Philippines. That is clear,” Tengco said in Filipino in a radio interview.

“There is no exemption (in the probe). We (will) also include elected officials, national and local. This law has long been in place, and we are enforcing it at present,” he added.

Tengco said PAGCOR’s Compliance and Monitoring Enforcement Department concluded that the engineers must have used aliases or false names to obtain their VIP membership cards.

He added they received information from the office of Sen. Panfilo Lacson identifying possible aliases of Alcantara and Bryce Hernandez.

“Yesterday or early evening, I wrote to all our licensed casinos, asking them to investigate and check if these names had played, and provide us the photos and identification they submitted along with their playing records,” said Tengco.–  Neil Jayson Servallos