Philippines Online Gambling Bust
Published: Thursday, October 19, 2006 Online-Casinos.com
PHILIPPINES ONLINE GAMBLING BUST
PAGCOR calls and the feds raid special economic zone
There was legal action in the Philippines this week when 30 agents of the National Bureau of Investigation brandishing a search warrant arrived at the Clark Special Economic Zone and raided a company called British Grand Vision, allegedly on a complaint of illegal Internet gambling operations using "live over the Internet" video streaming technology.
At least 50 employees of British Grand Vision were left without work after the NBI agents, accompanied by officials from the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp.(PAGCOR) confiscated the firm's computers and office equipment, said Ireneo Alvaro, a BGV spokesperson. The raid was apparently at the request of PAGCOR, which is responsible for issuing gaming licenses.
PAGCOR Chairman Ephraim Genuino, through his chief legal counsel Carlos Bautista Jr., said that British Grand Vision International had begun operating an Internet casino without any permit from the government agency early this year.
British Grand Vision spokesman Alvaro said his firm is "...engaged in information technology such as operations and maintenance of Internet data center and services such as, but not limited to, animated, simulated and interactive Internet gaming services." Its services are exclusive to regional and global market clients, he said.
Alvaro said that in the warrant, NBI agents alleged the company to be violating Presidential Decree 1602, the old law against illegal gambling. "We're not in anything illegal" Alvaro said, adding that company lawyers would dispute PAGCOR's allegation in court.
The NBI in Manila said at least P30 million worth of expensive cyber equipment used in illegal online gambling was seized during the raid. NBI Director Nestor Mantaring said the virtual casino was operated by British Grand Vision International, or Transglobal Pacific Airways Inc., in the special economic zone. Three truckloads of equipment were confiscated and are presently in safe storage, he said.
According to NBI Special Action Unit (SAU) chief Vicente de Guzman III, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. filed a complaint at the NBI regarding the company's illegal operations. The PAGCOR officials are also alleged to have told the NBI that the online casino was so profitable that properly licensed online casinos inside the Clark Special Economic Zone "have been losing money."
De Guzman said that after applying for a search warrant, the agents raided the establishment and seized casino tables; dealers' chairs and fixtures; TV sets; casino playing cards; "shoe boxes" for the playing cards; computers with plasma screens; webcams and digital video cameras; and servers used to send live casino games to the Internet.
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