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Friday, March 29, 2024

Betting on ‘E-sabong’ at QC OTB stations hit

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QUEZON CITY District 1 Councilor Victor Ferrer Jr. has condemned the illegal operation of betting on online cockfighting or “e-sabong” in various off-track horseracing betting stations or OTBs.

He said OTB stations are not allowed to collect bets on electronic cockfighting in the absence of a city ordinance.

Only a business permit from the Office of the City Mayor is issued to the OTB stations, he said.

Riding the trend of online casinos, “e-sabong” is the live streaming of actual cockfighting events, with internet-savvy gambling lords collecting the bets. While money changes hands in cockpits and arenas where live cockfighting is staged legally, in “e-sabong” wagers are wired electronically. 

Bettors collect their winnings through money transfer or “pera padala” outlets, usually through pawnshops and other financial institutions nationwide. 

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Ferrer said e-cockfighting needs the approval of the city council and the issuance of a franchise to be able to operate lawfully.  He invoked the Local Government Code of 1991.

“The law is very clear. It specifically lists cockfighting as one of the amusement activities that must be regulated by the Sangguniang Panglunsod, and as such, the taking or receiving of bets for the game and the payment of the winnings within the city, whether conducted live or through whatever means, falls under our jurisdiction,” he told reporters.

Quoting Section 458, Article 3 (v) of the Local Government Code, Ferrer said: “any law to the contrary notwithstanding, (the city council shall) authorize and license the establishment, operation, and maintenance of cockpits, and regulate cockfighting and commercial breeding of gamecocks: Provided, that existing rights should not be prejudiced.”

“As it stands, the city council has not passed any ordinance allowing online cockfighting. On my [legal] point of view, such operation is illegal despite the issuance of a business permit to an off-track betting station,” the councilor said.

Ferrer said the city is losing significant amounts in amusement taxes and franchise fees from the illegal operation of e-cockfight gambling. Quezon City has 53 off-track betting operators, second only to Manila’s 58 outlets. 

Metro Manila and its nearby provinces have at least 230 active off-track betting stations devoted to accept horseracing bets only, the councilor said.

“Based on reports reaching my office, online cockfighting in various off-track betting stations are generating billions of pesos in revenues in 2016 alone. How much in amusement taxes should we have collected from the operators? How much more can we collect from them through franchise fees?” Ferrer said.

“I will certainly ask the city council to look into the details of this e-cockfighting and determine whether the operators have paid the right taxes, if any. We shall also require them to secure authority or franchise from us.”

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