The new 16th President of Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte, right after being sworn in to the position at the ceremony that took place on Thursday, informed that any proliferation of online gambling in the Philippines will be stopped and the existing licenses are to be revoked.
As the oldest person ever elected for the position of the president, the 71-year-old Duterte is a member of the PDP-Laban political party and the first nation’s president of Mindanaoan descent. To support his stand, Duterte cited the difficulties in taxing online gambling.
“There is no way of the government collecting taxes there online,” Duterte said during a televised cabinet meeting. “How do you collect taxes there? [It’s] not exactly the taxes but I do not want a proliferation of gambling activities all over the country.”
The newly elected president declared also that his wish is to stop online gambling due to the adverse effects it can have on the people of Philippines.
“Online gambling must stop,” said Duterte. “It’s out of control in the Philippine Amusement And Gaming Corporation. I do not want a proliferation of gambling activities all over the country.”
Currently, the provision of online gambling is legal across the Philippines, with only few jurisdictions including the new Aurora Pacific Economic Zone And Freeport Authority (APECO) authorized to issue licences. Last month, Duterte stated that it is the health care that takes the main goal of his administration, and he intends to order a Philippine Amusement And Gaming Corporation run by the state which aim will be to rescind licences the administration of previous president Benigno Aquino had issued “sometime soon”, but he did not provide the exact date.
As Duterte said, “I will commit all earnings [from] the Philippine Amusement And Gaming Corporation, which runs to billions.”
In such a way, all earnings that the Philippine Amusement And Gaming Corporation receives, will be passed on to health and education programs.
