• CHERYL G. CRUZ
The Sangguniang Panlungsod has approved Sept. 3 a resolution requesting from the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) a list of privately-operated legitimate online gambling platforms/websites for local taxation and business permit purposes.
The resolution, authored by Councilor Wilson Gamboa Jr., said that there are licensed and privately-operated online gambling platforms that “generate revenues and operate within the jurisdiction of Bacolod without the necessary business permits and Resolutions of No Objection (RONOs)”.
If these online gambling platforms fail to secure the necessary business permits and comply with requirements regarding their access via the local internet service provider in Bacolod, they should be blocked and denied via the protective domain name system, Gamboa stressed.
He noted that estimated online gambling revenues amounted to P470 billion in 2024.
PAGCOR said in a Philippine News Agency report Sept. 3 that online gaming was one of the government’s biggest revenue drivers this year, adding that licensed online gaming sector earned P69 billion in license fees from January to July this year alone.
Of the amount, P41 billion came from electronic games (e-Games) while P28 billion came from other online game offerings, it added. | CGC
