The Quezon City government is being urged to regulate local gaming establishments involved in online gambling and bingo games, including those held in carnivals and for charitable causes.
In a proposed ordinance, Councilors Jesus Manuel Suntay and Godofredo Liban II said the operators of these establishments should be required to secure special permits from the city council and be subjected to certain restrictions.
The draft measure maintains that gaming establishments must not be allowed to operate within 200 kilometers from a church or school, and within 500 km from a similar establishment. They will also be penalized for operating earlier than 11 a.m., allowing the entry of minors and conducting games of chance on credit.
Any form of gambling must be restricted because it is detrimental to the Filipino family, diverting quality time of its members to “unproductive activities,” it stressed.
The special permit to be issued by the council can be either short-term or fixed.
The short-term permits allow the operation of bingo games, cockfights and games of chance for up to three days in a year, while fixed-term permits allow the regular operation of gaming establishments for three years. Games of chance in carnivals will be limited to 14 days or two weeks.
Exempted from securing permits are gaming establishments with a capital of at least P200 million as well as barangay and community-organized bingo games with prizes not exceeding P20,000.
An applicant for a permit must present a “letter of no objection” from the office of the city mayor or the local business permits and licensing office, a barangay resolution certifying that the village leadership has no objection to the project, a project description, the location of the gaming facility, a business plan with the projected income, and a lease contract.
Applicants for fixed-term permits are also required to present a tax clearance from the city treasurer as well as their previous permit and accreditation from either the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. or the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office.
Short-term permit applicants will also be required to submit a certification of membership in an organization duly recognized by the city, the description of the fund-raising activity and the target beneficiary, a memorandum of agreement between the organizers and the beneficiaries, and a certified list of prizes.