Pressure Mounting on PhilWeb

Sat, Oct 1, 2016

PhilWeb has been under fire ever since the island nation’s new president, Rodrigo Duterte (l.), took office this spring and declared war on online gambling. The company lost its e-gaming license in August and now has been denied permission to run a mobile lottery service for the government.

Philippines gaming regulator PAGCOR has dealt erstwhile online gambling giant PhilWeb another blow, denying the company a last-ditch attempt to save its business with a proposal to operate a mobile lottery service on PAGCOR’s behalf.

PhilWeb has been fighting for its survival since President Rodrigo Duterte, who took office in the spring, declared war on online gambling as a predatory business and tycoons like PhilWeb’s former Chairman Roberto Ongpin.

In August, PAGCOR did not renew PhilWeb’s license, forcing it to close some 286 e-games outlets employing more than 5,000 people.

In issuing the mobile lottery denial, PAGCOR CEO Andrea Domingo stated, “The current policy of the government is to strictly regulate and ensure non-proliferation of gambling avenues which are accessible to lower income brackets of society.”

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