Group to SC: Outlaw online cockfight betting in OTBs (Sabong News)

A NON-GOVERNMENTAL organization has filed a petition before the Supreme Court (SC), seeking to order the Philippine Racing Commission (Philracom) to direct all off-track betting (OTB) stations to cease and desist from allowing the betting of online cockfighting, or in its premises. In a 19-page petition for mandamus, the Liga ng Eksplosibong Pagbabago Inc. (Lepi) claimed that the government is losing P350 million in tax revenues from the illegal scheme every year. Thus, the group also asked the Court to direct the Philracom to  collect from those responsible the supposed revenue share of the government that was lost because of online cockfighting and to immediately remit the same to the National Treasury. “We are asking the SC to immediately compel Philracom to perform its mandate, that is to protect our horseracing industry—which has been a lucrative source of amusement-tax revenue—by putting a stop to the illegal operation of online in the OTBs,” Dr. Gilda Peralta, Lepi secetary-general, said in the petition. “The government is losing revenues, because there is no clear mechanism to tax online , and it has been eating into the revenues of horseracing, since racing aficionados end up betting in instead of horseracing, when these two games are held simultaneously in the OTBs,” Peralta said. She added that, as a regulatory body, Philracom has all the powers to stop online cockfighting in the OTBs, but the agency has not done anything despite its oft-repeated statement of protecting and regulating all matters pertaining to horseracing. “We have no other recourse but to go to the Supreme Court, because there is much confusion as to the legality of online and the government stands to lose more, as horseracing revenues go down, along with the 25 percent in amusement taxes from horseracing, as a result of the proliferation of online in the OTBs,” Peralta pointed out. According to the group, about 90 percent of horseracing revenues are derived from the OTBs, hence the severe impact of allowing online in these betting outlets, which are supposedly exclusive for horseracing. Based on the petition, there is nothing in the mandate of Philracom under Presidential Decree 420 that allows online gambling—such as online —to be conducted in OTB stations. “The conduct of online sabong in various OTB stations is patently illegal. More so, it had greatly prejudiced the horse- racing industry. Worst, the same had deprived, and is continuously depriving, the government of some P350 Million Pesos2 of much needed revenues.