Philippine Laws on Illegal Gambling

Since the announcement of Philippine President Rodrigo Roa Duterte for the Philippine National Police to halt its operation on war against drugs and shift the fight against illegal gambling, hundreds of suspected individuals were apprehended allegedly involved with illegal gambling nationwide.

In General Santos City for instance, there are at least 4 suspects are brought before our office for inquest investigation.  There suspects are either violating Presidential Decree (P.D.) No. 1602 or Republic Act No. 9287.

It might be noteworthy to consider because the police officers are doing their job as mandated by law, but, most, if not all, of the suspects apprehended belong to the poorest of the poor.  We are still waiting at the time when we would face suspects who are the financier of these illegal gambling games.

This image is taken from google.

The following are the gambling laws of the Philippines:

PRESIDENTIAL DECREE NO. 1602

It amended the criminal provisions of Arts. 195-199 of the Revised Penal Code of the Philippens (as amended), Republic Act No. 3063, Presidential Decree Nos. 483, 449, 510 and 1306 and all letters of instructions, executive orders, rules and regulations, city and municipal ordinances which are inconsistent thereof.

Penalties:

1.  Imprisonment of prision correccional in its medium period or a fine ranging from One Thousand to Six Thousand Pesos, and in case of recidivism, the penalty of prision mayor in its medium period or a fine ranging from Five Thousand to Ten Thousand Pesos shall be imposed to those:

a.  Any person who in any manner shall directly or indirectly take part in any illegal or unauthorized activities or games of cockfighting, jueteng, jai alai or horse racing to include bookie operations and game fixing, numbers, bingo and other forms of lotteries; cara y cruz, pompiang and the like; 7-11 and any game using dice; black jack, lucky nine, poker and its derivatives, monte, baccarat, cuajao, pangguinge and other card games; paik que, high and low, mahjong, domino and other games using plastic tiles and the likes; slot machines, roulette, pinball and other mechanical contraptions and devices; dog racing, boat racing, car racing and other forms of races, basketball, boxing and volleyball, bowling, pingpong and other forms of individual or team contests to include game fixing, point shaving and other machinations; banking or percentage game, or any other game scheme, whether upon chance or skill, wherein wagers consisting of money, articles of value or representative of value are at stake or made;

b.  Any person who shall knowingly permit any form of gambling to be carried on in inhabited or uninhabited place or in any building, vessel or other means of transportation owned or controlled by him.  If the place where gambling is carried on has a reputation of a gambling place or that prohibited gambling is frequently carried on therein, or the place is a public or government building or barangay hall, the malefactor shall be punished by prision correccional in its maximum period and a fine of Six Thousand Pesos;

2.  The penalty of prision correccional in its maximum period or a fine of Six Thousand Pesos shall be imposed upon the maintainer or conductor of the above gambling schemes;

3.  The penalty of prision mayor in its medium period with temporary absolute disqualification or a fine of Six Thousand Pesos shall be imposed if the maintainer, conductor or banker of said gambling schemes is a government official, or where such government official is the player, promoter, referee, umpire, judge or coach in case of game fixing, point shaving and machination;

4.  The penalty of prision correccional in its medium period or a fine ranging from Four Hundred to Two Thousand Pesos shall be imposed upon any person who shall, knowingly and without lawful purpose in any hour of any day, possess any lottery list, paper or other matter containing letters, figures, signs or symbols pertaining to or in any manner used in the game of jueteng, jai-alai or horse racing bookies, and similar games of lotteries and numbers which have taken place or about to take place;

5.  The penalty of temporary absolute disqualification shall be imposed upon any barangay official who, with knowledge of the existence of a gambling house or place in his jurisdiction fails to abate the same or take action in connection therewith;

6.  The penalty of prision correccional in its maximum period or a fine ranging from Five Hundred to Two Thousand Pesos shall be imposed upon any security officer, security guard, watchman, private or house detective of hotels, villages, buildings, enclosures and the like which have the reputation of a gambling place or where gambling activities are being held.

NOTE:  Any person who shall disclose information that will lead to the arrest and final conviction of the malefactor shall be rewarded twenty percent of the cash money or articles of value confiscated or forfeited in favor of the government.

REPUBLIC ACT NO. 9287

It is an act increasing the penalties for illegal numbers games, amending certain provisions of Presidential Decree No. 1602, and for other purposes.

This law provides the following definitions:

1.  Illegal Numbers Game - Any form of illegal activity which uses numbers or combinations thereof as factors in giving out jackpots.

2.  Jueteng - An illegal numbers game that involves the combination of 37 numbers against 37 numbers from number 1 to 37 or the combination of 38 numbers in some areas, serving as a form of local lottery where bets are placed and accepted per combination, and its variants.

3.  Masiao - An illegal numbers game where the winning combination is derived from the results of the last game of Jai Alai or the Special Llave portion or any result thereof based on any fictitious Jai Alai game consisting of 10 players pitted against one another; and its variants.

4.  Last Two - An illegal numbers game where the winning combination is derived from the last two numbers of the first prize of the winning Sweepstakes ticket which comes out during the weekly draw of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO), and its variants.

5.  Bettor ("Mananaya", "Tayador", or variants thereof) - Any person who places bets for himself/herself or in behalf of another person, or any person, other than the personnel or staff of any illegal numbers game operations.

6.  Personnel or Staff of Illegal Numbers Game Operation - Any person, who acts in the interest of the maintainer, manager or operator, such as, but not limited to, an accountant, cashier, checker, guard, runner, table manager, usher, watcher, or any other personnel performing such similar functions in a building structure, vessel, vehicle, or any other place where an illegal numbers game is operated or conducted.

7.  Collector or Agent ("Cabo", "Cobrador", "Coriador" or variants thereof) - Any person who collects, solicits or produces bets in behalf of his/her principal for any illegal numbers game who is usually in possession of gambling paraphernalia.

8.  Coordinator, Controller or Supervisor ("Encargado" or variants thereof) - Any person who exercises control and supervision over the collector or agent.

9.  Maintainer, Manager or Operator - Any person who maintains, manages or operates any illegal number game in a specific area from whom the coordinator, controller or supervisor, and collector or agent take orders.

10.  Financiers or Capitalist - Any person who finances the operations of any illegal numbers game.

11.  Protector or Coddler - Any person who lends or provides protection, or receives benefits in any manner in the operation of any illegal numbes game.

Penalties:

1.  Bettor - imprisonment from 30 days to 90 days;

2.  Personnel or Staff of an Illegal Numbers Game - imprisonment from 6 years and 1 day to 8 years.

Note:  Same penalty shall be imposed to any person who allows his vehicle, house, building or land to be used in the operation of the illegal numbers game.

3.  Collector or Agent - imprisonment from 8 years and 1 day to 10 years.

4.  Coordinator, Controller or Supervisor - imprisonment from 10 years and 1 day to 12 years.

5.  Maintainer, Manager or Operator - imprisonment from 12 years and 1 day to 14 years.

6.  Financier or Capitalist - imprisonment from 14 years and 1 day to 16 years.

7.  Protector or Coddler - imprisonment from 16 years and 1 day to 20 years.

Note:  Possession of Gambling Paraphernalia or Materials shall be prima facie evidence of any offense covered by this Act.

Source: www.lawphil.net