‘WATCH YOUR SPEED!’
STL franchisee also into bookies?
ILOILO City – Is the legal franchisee of the Small Town Lottery (STL) for the province of Iloilo also into illegal gambling?
An informant from an Iloilo municipality said a group of concerned citizens had written a letter complaint to the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office
(PCSO), alleging that bet takers identified with Eagle Crest Gaming and Holding Corp. transact business in Iloilo City, which is not part of their authorized territory covering only the province of Iloilo.
The source added that an Eagle Crest official also doubles as illegal bookie in the provinces of Iloilo and Guimaras.
Knowledgeable sources from the gaming industry told Panay
News that the illegal operation attracts old-time bet takers, better known as coridores, who demand 30-percent commission.
Eagle Crest, as an STL franchisee, is only allowed to give a maximum of 12 percent commission to coridores.
When betting with bookies, however, winners are not guaranteed full payment for their winning number combinations.
It may be recalled that STL was introduced in 2006 during the Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo presidency to stem underground lottery, but was conveniently used by gambling syndicates as a smokescreen for similar illegal numbers game, such as “daily double.”
Bets in “daily double” involved a pair of numbers from 1 to 37. In STL, however, the choices are broader – from 1 to 40, in either double or triple combinations, hence harder to hit and favorable as well to the illegalistas.
In a meeting last month, Senior Superintendent Remus Zacharias Canieso, city police director, asked the bet takers of STL to refrain from working for bookies.
In Iloilo province, on the other hand, Senior Superintendent Harold Tuzon, provincial police director, said their operations against illegal numbers games will continue.
“Those collecting STL bets
without identification cards will be collared. IDs will be checked,” said Tuzon.
He hoped STL would somehow minimize crimes, too.
“Kasi kung may trabaho, hindi na sila magnanakaw at gagawa
ng krimen,” he explained in a previous interview.
But Tuzon reminded his men to continue being watchful.
“My instruction to my police chiefs is to arrest those illegal gambling bet collectors,” he said.
PCSO is expanding the operation of STL nationwide to help the government’s anti-illegal gambling drive.
“Answering the call of President Rodrigo Duterte to eliminate illegal gambling and stop corruption in the country, PCSO expands its STL operations from 18 areas since it started in 2006 to 56 areas nationwide this year,” said Chairman Jose Jorge Corpuz recently./