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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider Luzon devider 94 nabbed in illegal raffle draw in Tarlac

94 nabbed in illegal raffle draw in Tarlac

Published Jul 2, 2025 10:01 pm
Authorities arrested 94 persons illegally facilitating online and offline raffle draws without the required permits and legal documentation in Tarlac province, the Philippine National Police Anti-Cybercrime Group (ACG) said on Wednesday.
YANG
YANG
In a press conference in Camp Crame, Quezon City, PNP-ACG chief Police Brig. Gen. Bernard Yang said the ACG operatives conducted a law enforcement operation on June 29 resulting in the arrest of three financiers and operators, 18 administrative staff, 43 head distributors, 19 distributors, and 11 agents who were facilitating both online and offline raffle draws.
The operation was jointly conducted with the Police Regional Office-Central Luzon (PRO-3), the provincial government of Tarlac, the Tarlac Provincial Health Unit, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp., (Pagcor), the Games and Amusements Board (GAB), and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Yang said preparations for the joint operation began as early as February 2024, in which the Facebook page utilized for the illegal operation was monitored as conducting livestreamed raffle draws and promoting it as legitimate events.
The illegal gambling scheme used a tambiolo (raffle drum) system, where bettors were required to purchase raffle tickets for P20 each. The operators enticed the public with false promises of grand prizes worth up to P4.5 million to encourage wider participation.
“Based on the advertisement, the grand prize is Toyota Fortuner worth P4.5 million. Second is the business package worth P1 million and then third is a 150-square-meter lot worth P1 million. Then since today is July, there was a wedding package worth P500,000 and other consolation prizes,” said Yang.
However, further investigation revealed that these prizes were fraudulent and that the alleged winners were members of the group behind the operation.
He added that upon verification, it was confirmed that the gambling operation had no authorization or licenses from regulatory bodies, including the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office, Pagcor, GAB, and SEC, and lacked a business permit from the Local Business Permits and Licensing Office of the provincial government of Tarlac.
“This is all about illegal online gambling through raffle. Based on our verification through cyber patrolling, this operation was already five years and every month, meron silang pa-raffle (they have raffles) in different places so it's not just one venue that they play and they went to different places just to have this monthly raffle. And those bettors are from different provinces nearby,” said Yang.
The suspects are facing charges for violation of Presidential Decree 1602 (illegal gambling) as amended by Republic Act (RA) 9287 in relation to Section 6 of RA 10175 (Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012).
The operation aligns with the directive of Police Gen. Nicolas D. Torre III, chief of the PNP, to intensify cyber patrolling and implement immediate legal action to prevent cybercriminals from exploiting social media platforms. (PNA)

Related Tags

Gambling Online gambling Illegal online gambling Illegal gambling Tarlac City Tarlac PNP-ACG Philippine National Police Anti-Cybercrime Group
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