CLARK FREEPORT—The Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) said it is close to totally stamping out the operations of the illegal numbers game popularly known as jueteng in the country.
PCSO Deputy Spokesman Florante Solmerin said that since the agency started expanding its small-town lottery (STL) beginning in January 2017, jueteng is now close to totally being eradicated.
Solmerin said STL now has 84 authorized agent corporations (AACs) operating in the country as compared with only 16 AACs last year.
He explained that, since STL is now hitting a monthly revenue of P2 billion, operators of the illegal numbers’ game are now panicking.
Solmerin said the PCSO-sanctioned STL has continuously increased its collection, angering jueteng operators.
“When we reported that we are hitting more than P5 billion STL revenue from January to June, PCSO critics said it’s too much to be believable,” he added.
“When we reported we are hitting P1.7 billion a month, they said it’s underdeclared because it should be P6 billion,” Solmerin said. “They are inconsistent with their observations.” “But the picture is now becoming clearer in the jueteng industry,” he added. “The overall jueteng collection, which is estimated to be about P2.37 billion a month for one operator only, is now diminishing. And, since we are now hitting P2 billion a month, the monthly take from jueteng is now only about P300 million.” “It is now STL versus jueteng,” Solmerin said. “That is the loss of the jueteng operator now.”
“We are slowly saturating the jueteng areas with the entry of STL because we are collecting up to P2 billion a month. This is why jueteng operators are feeling constricted. That is why they are complaining,” he added.
On Sandra S. Cam’s accusation that, out of the 84 AACs, only 14 are operating legally, Solmerin said Cam should back up her claim with evidence.
He added Cam’s claim that jueteng payola is paperless will not hold water.
“What is clear is that her friend Atong Ang wants to operate STL nationwide,” he said as disclosed by PCSO General-Manager Alexander F. Balutan. “Jueteng operators also know the elections are fast approaching, which is why they are now panicking because it is the major source of their campaign funds.”