Legal ba? Benny Abante seeks probe on e-sabong operations (Sabong Arena)
Genre
Sabong Arena
Keywords
online sabong
Article ID
00000333
Deputy Speaker and Manila Rep. Bienvenido Abante Jr. has called for a congressional investigation on the legality of e-sabong operations in the country.
Abante said online sabong is conducted every day contrary to the Cockfighting Law of 1974, which states that “cockfighting shall be allowed only in licensed cockpits during Sundays and legal holidays and during local fiestas for not more than three days.”
“Araw-araw ang sabong ngayon sa Pilipinas. Ang masakit pa nito, kahit mahal na araw o Holy Week––kahit Biernes Santo sagrado; kahit ngayong pandemic; kahit bawal ang sabong dahil sa ECQ o MECQ o GCQ––tuloy pa din ang online sabong,” Abante said.
Abante also questioned the authority of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) to issue licenses to three companies to conduct online sabong when the law states that “city and municipal mayors are authorized to issue licenses for the operation and maintenance of cockpits.”
“Sa ilalim ng batas, local government units lamang ang may kapangyarihan na magbigay ng lisensya sa mga sabungan at sabong sa Pilipinas. Batas po ito, Mr. Speaker. Sa pagkakaintindi ko, batas lamang din ang puwedeng magbago ng naunang batas. At tayo sa Kongreso ang dapat gumagawa ng batas na ‘yan, kung ‘di po ako nagkakamali,” Abante pointed out.
Abante revealed that each e-sabong company held as many as 350 cockfights daily, with bettors required to bet a minimum of P100 per fight.
The minimum gross bets for a single sulta, Abante said, reaches P5 million.
Abante added that online sabong lasts for ten hours, “so each of the three licensed e-sabong operators handles 600 million pesos of bets per day, or 1.8 billion pesos collectively.”
Aside from e-sabong, Abante also called for the House to look into other forms of internet gambling like online bingo and virtual casinos.
