All gaming activities under the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office or PCSO are now deemed illegal. Starting today, July 27, 2019, President Rodrigo Duterte has ordered all gaming activities of the PCSO stopped including Lotto, STL (small town lottery), Peryahan ng Bayan and Keno.

In a video message produced by RTVM and posted by Malacanang, Duterte said that he has decided to stop these gaming schemes due to alleged “massive corruption” in the agency. He also said that he hasn’t been comfortable with how the courts have become tolerant by continuously issuing injunctions that “paralyze the government” from going after those involved in alleged fraudulent activities and instead “allow corruption to thrive.”

Following Duterte’s orders, Philippine National Police Chief Gen. Oscar Albayalde has announced that police teams would be deployed to shut down all lotto, keno, STL, Peryahan ng Bayan etc outlets all throughout the Philippines.

Albayalde has been quoted as saying that all PCSO outlets, beginning July 27, 2019, will be considered “suspended or terminated.”

This means that no lotto bettors and bettors of any PCSO gaming scheme will be entertained. This also means that anyone who would continue to operate will be arrested.

“I am ordering the PNP, PNP Chief Albayalde, to arrest anybody, and goes also for the military, to arrest people engaged in gambling activities in connection with the franchises, licenses, concessions granted by the PCSO,” Duterte said.

“I will give them 24 hours to remove them from public places…All transactions and gaming, wager of bets, becomes illegal,” Duterte added.

WATCH Duterte’s full statement:

Share on Facebook