Authorities shut 7 illegal e-sabong operations
During the first fifteen days of May, 123 operations against illegal gambling ended with 370 arrests.
The Philippines.- Police have carried out a series of raids following President Rodrigo Duterte’s announcement of a ban on e-sabong operations. The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) reports that police have detected and shut down seven illegal e-sabong websites.
According to police data, 123 operations against illegal gambling were carried out during the first fifteen days of May. They ended with 370 people arrested and 107,455 gaming materials confiscated.
Duterte gave in to pressure to ban e-sabong after 31 people linked to the industry disappeared. In a DILG survey of 8,463 people, 62 per cent believed that online cockfighting should end. On the other hand, 34 per cent thought operations should continue but with stricter regulation. Only 4 per cent of those polled were in favour of e-sabong.
Reasons cited by respondents for opposing e-sabong include gambling addiction, player bankruptcy, neglect of work and school, and crime.
Earlier this week the Philippine National Police (PNP) reported that it had detected that 12 e-sabong websites were still operating.
Lt Michelle Sabino told local media that two of the sites are registered in the Philippines, while the remaining 10 appear to be foreign sites. According to Sabino, the links to these websites were promoted through Facebook pages, which have been identified by the police as having links to e-sabong operators.
