The National Charity Lottery authorities delivered the third quarter contributions to the General Directorate of Revenues.
Panama.- The general director of Revenues of Panama, Camilo Valdés, on behalf of the Panamanian state, received from the general director of the National Charity Lottery (LNB), Saquina Jaramillo, the contributions regarding the profits from the draws of the third quarter of the year, amounting to B/.8,050,000.00 (USD8m).
"The contributions delivered correspond to the profits from the sale of chances and tickets from various draws," explained the director of the DGI.
For her part, director Jaramillo stated that the National Charity Lottery is a self-management entity, which by law delivers contributions to the Panamanian state. Also, from the LNB it was explained that adjustments in the operational area and greater controls have allowed for the full compliance with the contributions in the months of July, August, and September.
"Besides delivering the full contributions these three months, this new administration continues with the charity work throughout the country," they assured from the LNB.
See also: The gaming industry in Panama grew by 13.5% in the first half
It is worth remembering that in mid-July, the Government of Panama announced the appointment of Jaramillo as the new general director of the LNB, in replacement of Marcos Cedeño, who had been nominated in June, but declined the position citing personal reasons.
Jaramillo assured that one of her main objectives is to promote the transparency of the institution. Another mission assigned by the president of Panama, José Raúl Mulino, is to end the electronic lottery that has been operating in the country since last October.
As part of the initiative to make the situation transparent, after receiving the endorsement of the National Assembly, Jaramillo said that the list of holders or owners of ticket books will be disclosed, once an audit that is being carried out is completed. Jaramillo advanced that nationally there are 13,000 ticket sellers and that they have already managed to review about 7,500 of the list.
The Committee on Ways and Means has expressed unanimous support for Bill 2868.
The Philippines.- Senator Sherwin Gatchalian has announced that all members of the Senate Committee on Ways and Means have signed Committee Report 342. The report recommends the approval of Senate Bill 2868, which bans all offshore gaming operators by repealing the Republic Act 11590.
Gatchalian said: “I am delighted to find out that all members of the Committee on Ways and Means signed Committee Report 342, signifying their support for the enactment of the measure.” He expressed confidence that the measure would be ratified before years-end, aligning with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s call to shut all offshore gaming operators by December.
“Legislating the ban on offshore gaming operators would hopefully bring to an end all the various criminalities spawned by the industry,” Gatchalian pointed out.
Aside from Gatchalian, the senators who signed the committee report are Senators JV Ejercito, Mark Villar, Nancy Binay, Pia Cayetano, Ronald Dela Rosa, Bong Go, Lito Lapid, Loren Legarda, Imee Marcos, Grace Poe, Raffy Tulfo, Joel Villanueva, Migz Zubiri, Risa Hontiveros, Bong Revilla and Cynthia Villar. Ex-officio members of the committee Jinggoy Estrada, Francis Tolentino, and Koko Pimentel also signed.
Earlier this week, Gatchalian called on the government agencies involved in the eradication of offshore gaming operators to work together.
Gatchalian said in a statement: “I call on the Philippine National Police, the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC), the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), Bureau of Immigration (BI), and other law-enforcement agencies, in coordination with the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR), to sit down and craft a consolidated approach in our advocacy to end all offshore gaming operator-linked criminalities in the country.
“The absence of unity and coordination among all concerned agencies could potentially weaken our campaign and enable offshore gaming operators to exploit gaps and continue their operations.”
