PCSO: Online sabong affecting lotto sales

MANILA, Philippines — The rampant and unchecked operations of online sabong or cockfighting have contributed to lower lotto sales, the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) said over the weekend.

PCSO general manager Royina Garma said electronic sabong continues to flourish amid quarantine restrictions.

Cockpit arenas have been shut down as social distancing is enforced to prevent the transmission of COVID-19.

“Definitely, lottery sales are affected by online sabong,” Garma said.

She said it is up to the Philippine National Police, National Bureau of Investigation and local government units, which issue permits to cockpits, to go after the operators of online sabong that use local cockfights as fronts for illegal gambling.

“As far as I know, legal ‘yung sabungan because they have permits from local governments. But online cockfights are illegal,” Garma said.

Reports said cock derbies are being held in private farms and uploaded on the internet for online betting.

Garma said the PCSO has yet to recover from revenue losses due to the five-month suspension of lottery games last year.

She said the charity agency’s revenue collection dropped by 57.68 percent, from P44.02 billion in 2019 to only P18.63 billion last year.