President Rodrigo Duterte has lifted the suspension on small town lottery (STL) operations but authorized agent corporations (AACs) have to comply with the new rules and regulations that the government has set.
Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) general manager Royina Garma announced the development in a video message uploaded on the state-run gaming site’s official Facebook account.
“We are happy to announce that pursuant to the recommendation of the PCSO, the President lifted the suspension of operations of STL’s authorized agent corporations that are compliant with the conditions of their STL agency agreement and [have] been remitting [their] guaranteed minimum monthly retail receipts (GMMRR),” Garma said.
Citing massive corruption in PCSO, Duterte on July 26 suspended all PCSO-licensed games, including lotto, STL, Keno, and Peryahan ng Bayan.
The government has set four conditions that AACs have to comply with before they can resume their STL operations.
Garma said STL owners need to deposit with the PCSO a cash bond “equivalent to three months of the PCSO’s share in the guaranteed monthly retail receipts, on top of their existing cash bonds.”
Second condition, he AAC’s cash bond equivalent to three months of the PCSO’s share in the GMMRR would be “automatically forfeited” in favor of PCSO, upon their failure to “timely and fully” remit their receipts during the duration of their operations and without prejudice to the other remedies that may be exercised by the government.
Each STL operator is also required to execute a written undertaking that “it shall comply with its obligations under the STL agency agreement and will not institute any claims, monetary or otherwise against the government and/or apply for a temporary restraining order or injunction from any court to prevent the government from exercising its rights and prerogatives.”
Lastly, the STL agency agreement would be “automatically” terminated, “upon violation of the conditions of their franchise and/or any of the above conditions without prejudice to the other remedies that may be exercised by the government.”
In a separate statement, Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said the effectivity of lifting of the suspension will take efect after the publication of the implementing rules and regulations.
“Any violation of any of the conditions contained in the implementing rules and regulations will mean revocation of the licence to operate the STL,” Panelo said.
