Philippines: 7 police officers arrested for illegal gambling (Sabong News)
Seven police officers have been removed from their roles in Quezon City due to alleged involvement in illegal gambling.
The Philippines.-
Two police station chiefs and seven precinct commanders
have been arrested for involvement in illegal gambling. All nine have been removed from their duties. They are also accused of failing to stop illegal gambling in their jurisdiction.
According to Phil Star,
National Capital Region Police Office chief Maj. Gen. Vicente Danao Jr
said
:
“police officers who will violate this policy will be dealt with (using) the full force of the law.”
A few days ago,
for allegedly being involved in illegal gambling. A first raid ended with the arrest of 13 people who were found playing card games. A second raid in Ayson village resulted in the arrest of nine people for
illegal bets in the card game tong-its
.
According to The Inquirer,
two village officials
were among those arrested. A third raid saw seven people arrested for playing tong-its and pusoy dos, a popular type of shedding card game.
During the raids, police seized a set of mahjong tiles, several decks of Spanish and American playing cards and cash. All those arrested will be charged with
violation of anti-gambling laws
.
Online betting on cockfights
has rocketed in the Philippines since
the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp (PAGCOR)
announced the approval of the first
operators. The regulator
is now warning players to gamble responsibly
to avoid gambling-related harms.
E-sabong grew in popularity after
cockpits were closed to spectators
at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. In May, PAGCOR announced the first two licensed e-sabong operators had started to operate. In June, it approved
.
The regulator also
warned the public not to participate in cockfighting betting offered by illegal operators
.
It said: “Sabong being closely intertwined with our culture is presently gaining popularity as an online gaming activity among Filipino.
“
Gaming responsibly is when a player only bets with money that he or she can afford to lose
, making sure that money allocated for daily sustenance and for the family is not used.”