The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) issued a reminder to the public that hosting unregistered online raffles on social media platforms is against the law.
In a statement, Alejandro H. Tengco, Pagcor chairman and chief executive officer, said these activities constitute illegal online gambling if they are not properly registered with the government's gaming regulator.
Tengco issued the statement on Thursday, May 2, following reports received by Pagcor about illegal online raffle activities, including those conducted on social media platforms such as Facebook.
“As the country’s gaming regulator, it is our duty to protect the public—especially the youth—from these illegal online gambling sites,” Tengco said.
Tengco said that online raffle games must be registered with Pagcor to operate legally.
“We advise those who are involved in similar activities to think again. Register your online gaming operations with Pagcor instead,” Tengco said.
“There will be consequences if you continue to operate illegally because Pagcor is constantly in touch with law enforcement agencies to ensure that these activities do not proliferate,” he added.
On Wednesday, May 16, a group of individuals engaged in an illegal online raffle on Facebook was apprehended by the Philippine National Police Anti-Cybercrime Group in coordination with Pagcor.
The suspects, operating under the FB Page "Lucky Dream 4," were caught red-handed in their office located in a Biñan, Laguna subdivision while live-streaming their 50th raffle event.
Tengco said that the arrests align with the state gaming agency's commitment to ramping up efforts in combating illegal online gambling through enhanced collaboration with law enforcement agencies.
According to Pagcor Senior Vice President Raul Villanueva, Lucky Dream 4, with 111,000 followers on Facebook, has been organizing live online raffle games and presenting second-hand modified motorcycles as prizes.
“The Lucky Dream 4 group has been operating for a time now. In one raffle, they can collect up to P1.8 million,” he said.
Villanueva added that in one raffle event, the group can sell an average of 40,000 to 50,000 tickets, with each ticket costingP40.
“They have amassed over P8 million from the time they started this illegal online operation because in one draw, they can sell as many as 50k tickets,” said Villanueva, head of the Pagcor Security Group.
“The sad part is, most members of this group are young people. The oldest among them is only 27 years old,” he added.
“The Lucky Dream 4 group is obviously engaged in an illegal online gaming activity. They are already running a business. They need to secure a license from Pagcor if they want to operate an online gaming platform,” Villanueva added.