Quezon to review draft gambling ordinance

The City Council will review a draft originate that seeks to regulate gambling in the territory.

Philippines.- Vice Mayor Joy Belmonte and Councilor Ivy Lagman, the measure’s author, said during an interview that the Quezon City Council has decided to review a draft ordinance that would regulate gambling in the city.

Belmonte and Lagman told the Inquirer that the move is to allow more discussions and amendments to the draft. The ordinance No. 20CC-247 proposes a number of requirements for firms that want to operate a gaming establishment in the city and it imposes a responsible gambling fee of US$30 on any resident that spends 24 hours nonstop inside a casino.

Those fees would go directly to a local government projects and campaigns fund that would inform residents the side effects of long hours of gambling, including a 24/7 hotline for those who develop an addiction. Belmonte said that the council has received a request to increase fees in order to discourage gamblers.

“We will still study whether we would consider these position papers,” she said. The initial ordinance was approved on October 2 and was supposedly tables for a approval on a final reading on October 23.