‘Government merits bigger take in E-sabong revenues’ (Sabong News)
Author
Jovee Marie de la Cruz
Date
APRIL 07 2022
THE revenue scheme being implemented for online cockfighting should have government earning more than e-sabong operators and not the other way around, former House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano said.
Citing recent Senate hearings on e-sabong, Cayetano said the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor) stands to earn only P7.6 billion a year while e-sabong operators can earn around P36 billion.
Under the current setup, the operator only pays the government P12,500 per cockfight and keeps the rest of the earnings, he noted.
The lawmaker said contracts for online gambling are not ordinary contracts that cannot be amended.
Cayetano said this is in stark contrast to the way the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) operates lotto, in which it gives the operator, Berjaya Philippines, Inc., a fixed amount of P5.8 billion for a lease period of five years for its technical know-how and software to operate the lottery.
The licensees and agents who accept the bets, however, deal not with Berjaya but directly with PCSO, which earns 20 percent from ticket sales. An additional 20 percent tax on ticket sales goes to the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR).
“If the government says it needs funds, this is the model. Before the pandemic, lotto earned P18 billion a year. In five years, [it should earn] P90 billion, but it pays Berjaya only P5.8 billion,” Cayetano said.
Despite running an eco-friendly campaign that uses no printed materials and no motorcades, Cayetano, meanwhile, maintained his high ranking in the latest survey on senatorial preferences by Pulse Asia.
Should he win in the May 2022 elections, Cayetano vowed to continue to express opposition against the online gambling. Lawmakers are calling for the suspension of e-sabong following the disappearance of “sabungeros.”
Released on Wednesday, April 6, the March 2022 survey results showed Cayetano ranking second to fifth among all senatorial candidates.
