“ONLINE gambling corrupts young minds, and will send wrong values to the youth,” thus says Congresswoman Vanessa C. Aumentado (2nd District) in her prefatory statement.
Aumentado filed a House Bill No. 2665 “An Act Prohibiting Online Gambling, Penalizing The Placing Of Wagers Or Bets Through The Internet Or Any Form Of Online Gambling Activities, And For Other Purposes” after attending the opening of the House’s 20th Congress regular session last week.
Electronic Sabong or e-sabong is defined as the online and/or remote or off-site wagering/betting on live cockfighting matches, events, and/or activities streamed or broadcasted live from cockpit arenas/s licensed or authorized by the Local Government Units having jurisdiction thereof.
Philippine Star reported that the House have already passed on third and final reading House Bill No. 11254 finally prohibit online cockfighting or e-sabong and other related illegal activities in the country.
But it was not clear whether it was entertained by the Senate.
Aumentado said that she filed the said bill to protect the people from evils of gambling since social cost such as health or crime relative to gambling cannot be ignored despite the fact that gambling generates fund for the government.
She stressed that it is the obligation of the government to intervene since there’s no proven way or cure to prevent gambling addiction.
Gambling, she said, is a social disease that destroys the family fabric and corrupts the dignity of those who have succumb to the addiction of betting and hard-earned money. (rvo)
