The Association of Ticket Sellers requested that the draft bill seeking to increase the percentage to 20 percent be addressed. "We have been waiting for this for 20 years," said the head of the union, Fernando González.
Panama.- Sellers of chances and tickets of the National Lottery of Charity (LNB) made a claim for the advancement in the processing of the project to increase their sales profits, raising the margin to 20 percent.
Fernando González, from the Association of Ticket Sellers, stated that they are requesting the new administration of the entity to increase the sales percentages. In this regard, he reiterated that there is a draft law in the National Assembly, which seeks to increase the profits to 20 percent. He maintained that a subcommittee was created to look at all aspects of the issue and with the new administration a "step ahead has been taken for this to happen."
However, González expressed his concern because the Assembly will soon stop sessioning and perhaps the issue will be postponed to next year. "We ticket sellers have been waiting for this for over 20 years," claimed the head of the union about the urgency in adopting a new scale of profits on sales.
See also: Panamanians allocated USD 1.375m to gambling in the first five months of 2024
According to González, currently, the profit percentage is at 10 percent of sales, so raising it to 20 percent would mean a change in the life of the workers. Saquina Jaramillo, director of the institution, said that the corresponding evaluations will be made to comply with this request from the Executive Chief.
Lastly, the head of the ticket sellers' association explained the need to delve into the fight against illegal gambling, which is harmful for the LNB but also for the workers. According to a recent report from the LNB, illegal gambling would cause the entity to miss out on collecting about USD 200m annually.
While the debate to modify the amounts received by the lottery sellers is developed in the legislative sphere, the mayor's office of La Chorrera announced that it will carry out operations to combat the proliferation of illegal gambling.
The ticket sellers from that locality expressed how affected they are by the illegal sale of lottery and requested that a stop be put to the offenders, detecting them with operations led by the Mayor's Office of La Chorrera, in conjunction with the National Police (PN), Ministry of Commerce and Industries (MICI) and the Public Ministry (MP).
The affected highlighted that there is a proliferation of premises dedicated to clandestine sales and emphasized that it is unfair competition that greatly affects their income, those of the LNB, and the State.
Alejandro Tengco said Philippines GGR will surpass the target for the year.
The Philippines.- Alejandro Tengco, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR)’s chairman and CEO, expects the country’s gross gaming revenue (GGR) for 2024 to exceed PHP350bn (US$6.04bn), easily surpassing the target of PHP334bn (US$5.76bn). Last year’s GGR was PHP285bn (US$4.91bn).
In the third quarter of the year, GGR was PHP94.61bn (US$1.61bn). That’s an increase of 37.5 per cent year-on-year and 6 per cent from the second quarter of the year. The largest growth was seen in the eGames sector, where revenue rose by 464.38 per cent year-over-year to PHP35.71bn.
Private casino resorts, including those in Manila’s Entertainment City, continue to be the biggest contributors. They generated PHP50.72bn, a decline of 2.3 per cent year-on-year but a rise of 2 per cent sequentially. Revenue from PAGCOR-operated casinos reached PHP3.64bn, down 26.3 per cent from a year earlier and 22.4 sequentially.
See also: PAGCOR delivers health services and assistance to Ilocos Norte residents
In November, PAGCOR reaffirmed that it has regulatory authority over the Freeport Area of Bataan. In a statement released on November 19, the agency addressed remarks by Joseph Lobo, a senior official in its Offshore Gaming Licensing Department, who said last week that the regulator had no jurisdiction over a suspected offshore gaming operator in Bataan.
