Ang Probinsyano Partylist Rep Ronnie Ong urged the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) to resume interactive mobile lottery game operations to help the government raise funds as a response to the pandemic crisis in the country.
Ong, who was also the vice-chairperson of the House committee on games and amusements, said the PCSO should contribute to generating money for the COVID-19 budget.
Different land-based lottery operations such as Scratch-it, Small Town Lottery, and Sweepstakes were shut down following the enhanced community quarantine. Ong, however, said PCSO could still open fraud-free interactive mobile lotteries.
“Interactive and mobile lottery games can actually be very timely at this time because of the ECQ. Many people are in their homes, doing nothing. Instead of wasting money on some online games to fight boredom, they can actually support PCSO lotteries as their way of contributing in the war effort against this unseen enemy,” Ong said.
PCSO could launch interactive and mobile apps where people can play Sweepstakes, Scratch-it, and other forms of lotteries, Ong added.
He also said bettors could use online payment platforms such as credit cards, Paypal, and virtual wallets like G-Cash, SmartCash, PayMaya, and WeChat.
The solon said the government is losing P3.75 Billion per month or P125 Million per day after the PCSO lottery shut down its operation due to ECQ in Luzon.
“Even if we can only generate half of the P3.75 Billion monthly revenue of the PCSO, we will be able to provide adequate relief of a lot of communities, especially in areas which are on full lockdown. Let us be realistic about the ECQ. Most of the people take their chances outside their homes because they have no food to eat,” Ong said.
Meanwhile, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said Monday the government is looking into a proposal of reopening Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs) to help generate COVID-19 funds.
“The evaluation is ongoing,” Dominguez said. “But let me reiterate — all of the above depend on the results of the ongoing evaluation of the trade-offs involved in the decision of maintaining the current partial lockdown or tightening it or loosening it further.”