PAGCOR responds to Maryland licence plate gaming debacle
A website address on Maryland licence plates was diverted to an online gambling site.
The Philippines.- The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) has responded to reports of a fraud related to an illegal gambling site apparently being advertised on vehicle licence plates in the US state of Maryland.
Some 800,000 vehicle licence plates in Maryland mention the website www.starspangled200.org. The site originally belonged to a non-profit group that received commissions from plate sales to fund projects to mark the bicentenary of the War of 1812, but it has since been diverted to an illegal gambling website purportedly operated from the Philippines via https://www.globeinternational.info
PAGCOR chairman and CEO Alejandro Tengco said the incident harmed the reputation of the Philippines.
He said: “PAGCOR has nothing to do with the said websites, as well as the gaming activities happening therein. As the country’s gaming regulator, PAGCOR does not condone illegal online gambling.
“Engaging or betting on illegal gambling activities is not only a criminal act; it also takes away from the government billions of pesos in revenues which can be used to fund priority programs that will benefit a greater number of Filipinos. Hence, we have been continuously working with various government and law enforcement agencies to ensure that our gaming policies are in place and the online gaming platforms that we regulate are safe and credible.”
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According to the regulator’s press release, the matter has been escalated to PAGCOR’s Security and Monitoring Cluster for investigation and action will be taken against the site. Tengco urged people to only use PAGCOR-licenced online gaming platforms.
