Working with local police and cyber security details, PAGCOR mounted two successful raids in the Philippines, bringing down illegal raffle, online gambling, and crypto scam operations. Read on for all the sordid details.
The fantastic growth of the Filipino gambling sector and how the revenue it generates has made it an important government focus. The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) has repeatedly proven that they are not willing to abide by companies operating illegally, both within their borders or offshore, to target players in the Philippines.
PAGCOR Chairman and CEO Alejandro H. Tengco explains:
Quote“We have been receiving reports of illegal online activities, including those on social media platforms. As the country’s gaming regulator, it is our duty to protect the public—especially the youth—from these illegal online gambling sites.”
Manic May: 1st Gambling Raid
The month of May has barely begun, and already PAGCOR, along with the Philippine National Police Anti-Cybercrime Group (PNP-ACG), were kicking down the doors of illegal raffle sellers.
The target of this initial joint task force was the Lucky Dream 4 raffle group that was operating on Facebook. The group has amassed a noteworthy following of just over 111,000 users and could sell as many as 50,000 raffle tickets at a time.
PAGCOR Senior Vice President Raul Villanueva said:
Quote“The Lucky Dream 4 group has been operating for some time now. In one raffle, they can collect up to Php1.8 million. We advise those who are involved in similar activities to think again and register their online gaming operations with PAGCOR instead.”
According to a report by the PNP-ACG, the raid was successful, resulting in 16 arrests, effectively shutting down the group for the time being.
Recognising the appeal of the lottery-like enterprise, Villanueva added:
Quote“The Lucky Dream 4 group is obviously engaged in illegal online gaming. They need to secure a license from PAGCOR to operate an online gaming platform.”
This balanced reaction once again proves the regulator's desire to expand the scope of its legal gambling offerings while limiting the abusive impact of unlicensed operators.
The Fun Continued on May 2nd
The second raid was actioned the following day in Parañaque and utilised the combined resources of PAGCOR and the CIDG-NCR. This time around, the task force ended up arresting ten Chinese nationals who were found to be running an illegal online casino network.
In addition to their links to unlicensed gambling activities, there is evidence that the suspects were also engaged in a series of online scams.
The PAGCOR press release stated:
Quote“Police said the Chinese suspects were engaged in scamming activities such as love and cryptocurrency scams similar to the illegal activities in the Bamban, Tarlac compound which was raided last March.”
During the raid, the task force recovered 75 mobile devices, 30 home computers, 50 laptops, a variety of credit cards, several vehicles, and a cache of Chinese government documents. They also freed nine Filipino workers who were held on the compound against their will and arrested a local man who was acting as a guard for possession of an unlicensed firearm.
The report mentions two hidden vaults discovered at the site that were being used to run scams and illegal gambling sites, but no specific mention of what was found inside was made available to the public at this point in time.
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