PNP to meet with games and amusement agencies to curb illegal gambling

MANILA, Philippines — Officials of the Philippine National Police (PNP) are set to meet with the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor) and the Games and Amusement Board (GAB) to sort out gambling activities that are operating illegally or are using licensed games as legal fronts.

PNP chief Lt. Gen. Archie Gamboa said he had already directed Lt. Gen. Guillermo Eleazar, deputy chief for operations, to conduct an in-depth study of the various schemes of illegal gambling being practiced in the country.

The operations units of the PNP were given two weeks to come up with recommendations that would later be presented to officials of Pagcor and GAB during the meeting, which date is not yet definite as of yet.

“We want to thresh out which are illegal and which are not so that the public would know and likewise for our policemen to identify which of these could be subjected to police operations,” Gamboa in an interview with reporters on Wednesday.

Through this meeting, the PNP, Pagcor, and GAB are expected to come up with coordination protocols and agreements that would be observed by the police in operating against illegal gambling.

“We will be issuing specific guidelines on all of these gambling things,” he said, citing small town lottery, which has long been used as a front for jueteng operations, and online cockfighting as forms of gambling with gray areas.

Several police commanders in Metro Manila were earlier sacked from their posts for their supposed failure to curb the problem in their respective areas. The National Capital Region Police Office has also prohibited all forms of gambling during wakes and fiesta celebrations.