DILG, foreign counterparts eye 10 illegal offshore e-sabong sites

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MANILA, Philippines — Philippine authorities are coordinating with counterparts abroad in looking into at least 10 active off-shore e-sabong websites, Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Eduardo Año said Wednesday.

“Tuloy tuloy yung operasyon nila, meron pa rin tayong magagawa diyan dahil meron naman tayong ugnayan sa ating mga counterpart abroad pero ang mahirap kasi dito, yung pagtukoy mismo kasi magagaling din ‘tong nagasagawa ng website na ito at meron silang confidential way kung paano maitago yung identity nila,” Año said in a Teleradyo interview.

(Their operations continue, we can do something about this because we have coordination with our counterparts abroad but what is challenging here is the identification of the operators because those who have set up these websites have a confidential way to hide.)

Citing a report made to him by the police’s anti-cybercrime group, Año said authorities have monitored 12 e-sabong websites that remained operational despite President Rodrigo Duterte’s order to close online sabong operations.

Of the 12, 10 are operating off-shore while two operate locally.

According to the DILG chief, one of the locally operated sites has been closed down.

“Yung ibang mga websites na ‘to ay ire-report ng PNP (Philippine National Police) sa Pagcor (Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation), sila kasi yung may mandato diyan at i-request nila yung DICT (Department of Information and Communications) na i-strike down itong mga sinasabing website na ito,” he added.

(The other websites will be reported by the PNP to the Pagcor, they have the mandate over this and request the DICT to strike down these websites.)

The PNP has also monitored eight Facebook pages which redirect visitors to a website where they can download a mobile application for P100 and make bets, according to Año.

“Yung mga betting station, sarado na lahat yan at tayo ay nakikiusap sa mga kababayan natin na wag nang tumaya sa mga e-sabong na ito. Ang masaklap dito ay yung mga website na ito ay gumagamit din ng Facebook,” he said.

(The betting stations, they’ve closed down and we are appealing to the public not to make bets anymore. What is bad about this is that these websites are using Facebook.)

Early this month, Duterte ordered to stop e-sabong operations, citing its social cost.

This, after the DILG conducted a survey, which showed that 62 percent of 8,000 respondents favored closing down e-sabong operations.

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