THE online sabong operations continue despite the ban ordered by the previous administrations, said Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) chair and CEO Alejandro Tengco.
Tengco admitted at a Senate hearing when asked if PAGCOR has plans to revive e-sabong.
“As of now, I think there is an ongoing study, primarily because, despite the ban that was made, if I’m not mistaken, sometime in May of 2022, e-sabong continues—I mean, candidly speaking, e-sabong still continues to proliferate,” Tengco said.
“E-sabong is ongoing, and unfortunately, it is not being regulated…the sad part is that today, the government is not getting a centavo,” he added.
PAGCOR generated close to P6.5 billion in license fees in 2021, when the agency was still regulating e-sabong, Tengco said.
“Whether it will be revived, I don’t want to second guess, Mr. Chairman, but I believe that, again, this is a major problem of regulating the said e-sabong because, as mentioned, during the time that it was ongoing and being regulated by PAGCOR, PAGCOR gained close to six and a half billion, and today not a single peso is generated,” he said.
“I think there might be some variations in the regulations that can be studied, but then again, I do not want to preempt whatever decision whoever will make on the matter. But honestly, within PAGCOR, we’re not studying it at this very moment,” he added.
In May 2022, then-President Rodrigo Duterte ordered an end to e-sabong operations due to its social costs.
E-sabong hit the headlines in 2022 following the disappearance of dozens of people involved in the industry. The cases of missing sabungeros have yet to be resolved two years later.
