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Off-track betting stations get IATF's go signal

Philippines | National

Off-track betting stations get IATF's go signal

By Argyll Cyrus Geducos

The government's pandemic task force has allowed the limited operations of off-track betting stations of the Philippine Racing Commission (PRC) in areas under the general community quarantine (GCQ) and modified GCQ (MGCQ).

Photo from Philracom

Based on Resolution No. 117 of the Inter-agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases, off-track betting stations may resume operations limited to selling tickets only in areas under the said quarantine classifications and subject to strict observance of minimum public health standards.

The decision of the IATF came weeks after it has once again allowed the conduct of horse-racing activities in areas under the modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) under a no-audience set-up.

The IATF initially allowed only online and TeleBet activities in the National Capital Region-plus (NCR-plus) bubbe area to operate.

It took six months before the IATF allowed the resumption of Philippine horse racing in September last year. Horse racing was one of the establishments forced to close down during the lockdown due to the threat of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Philippine horse racing was once again suspended when Metro Manila and nearby provinces reverted to ECQ due to the alarming spike in COVID-19 cases.

The industries that were prohibited from operating under the ECQ and MECQ based on Section 3(5)(f) Omnibus Guidelines were:

Casinos
Horse racing
Cockfighting and operation of cockpits
Lottery and betting shops
Other gaming establishments except for the draws conducted by the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office

IATF Resolution No. 114 released on May 7 allowed horse-racing activities under the MECQ. The operation of the other establishments under the same list from the Omnibus Guidelines remained prohibited.

Related Tags

IATF resolution horse betting Horse racing Off-track betting stations racing IATF

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