Non-PhilWeb gaming cafes operate under close watch

MANILA – Online gaming stations that do not run on PhilWeb Corp.’s systems continue operations under tight supervision, the head of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. said Thursday.

The operational e-game sites that use IEST or Insta-Win software are monitored for strict compliance, including limiting operating hours to a maximum of 15 hours and ensuring that they are spaced at least 300 meters apart, PAGCOR chairperson Andrea Domingo said.

“Meron pa silang legal basis. Nag-comply sila sa lahat ng requirements,” Domingo told DZMM.

(They have legal basis. They complied with all the requirements.)

Domingo said the establishments comply with the minimum distance from schools and churches, which was stressed by President Rodrigo Duterte.

Gaming cafes should also be located inside three-star hotels, shopping malls, casinos and arcades, she said.

PAGCOR refused to renew PhilWeb Corp.’s license in August, after the President declared his opposition to online gambling. Duterte had also branded then PhilWeb chairman Roberto Ongpin as an “oligarch” who must be “destroyed” for making money off the poor.