Extension of STL operations subject to Noy’s approval

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) yesterday clarified that the extension of the licenses of small-town lottery (STL) authorized agent corporations is still waiting the approval of President Aquino.

All STL “authority to operate” or licenses will expire on June 30 this year.

PCSO general manager Jose Ferdinand Rojas II said the PCSO board had approved a three-month extension of operations of 19 STL gaming operators “pending the approval of the President.”

He said the PCSO board in a resolution found “merit and sufficient legal basis” in the recommendation of the PCSO’s Online Lottery Sector that monitors the operations of STL authorized agent corporations.

The sector recommended the extension their licenses on fears that their immediate termination will result in the proliferation of illegal numbers games and unemployment of the more than 140,000 bet collectors employed by the STL corporations.

Rojas said this interim extension was approved since PCSO is refining the final version of the PCSO Loterya ng Bayan (PLB) game with the Office of the President.

He said the PLB’s implementing rules and regulations are also awaiting approval of the President.

There are presently 19 PCSO-accredited STL corporations operating in 14 out of the 81 provinces in the country, 17 of them in Luzon and two in the Visayas. There are no STL operations in Mindanao.

STL operators employ a total of 142,395 sales supervisors and agents, who in 2011 and 2012 helped annual STL gross revenues reach more than P4 billion, or P8 billion for those two years.

Income from STL operations allowed PCSO to pay off the previous PCSO board’s tax arrears of P4 billion, besides contributing substantially to the agency’s Charity Fund that allocates financial assistance to individuals and institutions for medical- and healthcare-related concerns.