BAGUIO CITY – An official of the State-owned Philippine Amusement Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) disclosed electronic bingo operators are now required to secure a resolution or certification of no objection from local government units in the renewal of their licenses to operate pursuant to the revised guidelines promulgated by the Board of Directors last year.
Marvic P. Baas, senior manager of PAGCOR’s licensing department, said e-bingo operators are now required to present a resolution or certification of no objection when renewing their licenses to operate such outlets within the jurisdiction of local governments to make sure that local governments still accept their operations.
In the city, the e-bingo outlet of SM City Baguio has an expired license as of January 15, 2017, and one of the requirements being awaited from the operator is the resolution or certification of no objection from the local government while the e-bingo outlet within the premises of Puregold at Centerpoint along Marcos highway has a license that will expire on May 8, 2017.
Further, the Baguio Center Mall e-bingo outlet has a license that will expire in March 2018 while the newly approved e-bingo outlet within the Maharlika Livelihood Center under RCC Global Entertainment will pass through the one year provisional franchise before being issued a 2-year license with the required resolution or certification of no objection from the local government.
Baas informed the members of the local legislative body that failure of the e-bingo operators to secure the resolution or certification of no objection from the local government will force the State gaming corporation to close the operation of the e-bingo outlets in the city.
Under the newly crafted guidelines for the operation of traditional and e-bingo outlets, such outlets must be located at least 300 meters away from churches, places of worships, and schools while malls, arcades and government commercial buildings are exempted from the said limitation.
PAGCOR officials were invited by the local legislative body to shed light on the updated guidelines for the grant of licenses to interested e-bingo and traditional bingo outlets and to guide the local legislators what actions to take on such gambling outlets in the different parts of the city.
Baas explained previously, PAGCOR requires e-bingo and traditional bingo outlets to secure the resolution or certificate of no objection from the concerned local governments hosting their operations during the initial stages of their application but to allow local governments to have the chance to retract their support to such outlets once they no longer like gambling establishments to operate in their respective areas of jurisdiction.
The PAGCOR official advised local legislators to issue the required resolution or letter of objection against existing e-bingo and traditional bingo outlets in the city if they no longer want such gambling establishments to do business in the city due to the numerous complaints from the public regarding the serious negative effects of gambling to the lives of the populace.
By Dexter A. See
