‘E-Sabong’ not for OFWs, limited to PH, says Pagcor

THE Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor) warned operators and licensees of online cockfighting, popularly known as ‘E-Sabong,’ to make sure that their operations are limited to the Philippines or face administrative sanctions from the national gaming authority.

Pagcor, in a statement, noted that due to the nature of E-Sabong’s operations, it has “aggressively risen to fame as a popular form of entertainment” as the public’s choice of activities and forms of entertainment have been severely limited because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Cognizant of its detrimental effects if left unchecked, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) has instituted a regulatory framework for the E-sabong industry which primarily aims to protect the welfare of Filipino players while ensuring that the government gets its appropriate share of revenues from the gaming operations,” Pagcor said.

However, Pagcor also noted the rising concern as regards the “active participation” to E-Sabong of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs).

Cockfighting is a part of Filipino culture and tradition, dating back to pre-Spanish times.

Pagcor said that as part of its regulatory framework for E-Sabong, the licensee’s platform “shall not accept bets emanating outside the Philippines and shall not be accessible in any way whatsoever outside the Philippines.”

“To ensure that this standard is met, applicants for E-sabong operations are required to submit a certification from a gaming laboratory attesting that the gaming websites are not accessible outside the Philippines and that Internet Protocol (IP) addresses emanating from other countries are blocked or restricted from accessing such websites.

“To bolster the need to uphold the welfare of our people who may succumb to the ills of irresponsible gaming, the framework further provides for the imposition of administrative penalties to operators who shall fail to comply with set standards and requirements.

“Hence, offshore betting, or bets coming from players abroad, even if from Filipinos, are not allowed in E-Sabong,” the gaming body explained further.

Pagcor also warned the public that websites still accessible abroad, especially to OFWs, are “illegal.”

“We are not oblivious however to the fact that certain websites are accessible abroad. These, if any, are illegal websites operating outside the regulatory authority of Pagcor,” it stressed.

“However, should any of our licensed operators be caught offering their fights abroad, they shall be meted with the applicable penalties as provided in our regulation.

“We thus request the public to report to Pagcor those websites which are accessible abroad for our proper disposition,” it added.