Salceda wants online sabong, other legal electronic betting activities taxed

House ways and means panel chair Joey Salceda is proposing to impose taxes on legal online sabong and other legally-operated electronic betting activities in order to make the industry more transparent and accountable.

Salceda's proposal is contained in House Bill 7919, which he filed to clarify the national government's share of the revenues of these online betting activities and to ensure more oversight for this industry.

“The operations are already legal, by virtue of local ordinances, but the electronic aspect of it is a legal gray area," Salceda said in a statement.

"Because of the ambiguity, we are unable to levy national taxes on these activities, or look into their operations. My bill addresses that concern,” he added.

Imposing taxes on these gaming activities could also raise more revenues for the government's COVID-19 response, he noted.

Under Salceda's proposal, a tax regime will be imposed on “Offsite Betting Activities on Locally Licensed Games,” which exclude “games and activities specifically authorized by law to be performed by the government gaming authorities, such as the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) and the Philippine Charity and Sweepstakes office (PCSO).”

The tax to be imposed amounts to 5% of the gross revenue derived from Offsite Betting Activities on Locally Licensed Games and should not be in lieu of taxes required by local government units as well as regulatory fees and charges imposed by government agencies.

In order to ensure transparency and accountability in these activities, the measure authorizes the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) "to accredit and inspect totalizators and other gambling devices used in the collection, consolidation, and recording of wagers made in offsite betting activities on locally licensed games."

At the same time, the bill requires operators of the regulated gaming activities to specify “Offsite Betting Activities on Locally Licensed Games” in disclosures and documentations required by the BIR and other regulatory government agencies and instrumentalities to ensure that the government can monitor their operations.

"This measure is consistent with my view that all gambling activities that the law allows should be highly beneficial to the government’s fiscal position. Otherwise, what is the point of allowing them?” Salceda said.

"[The] local government will have full authority to license the games under their jurisdiction, and they will be able to impose whatever taxes they want to. But the national government will also be imposing these taxes, for the use of the airwaves which is national property," he added.

Salceda believes that the additional regulatory oversight requirements for these gaming activities will allow the government to monitor their operations if needed.

“Nandyan na ‘yan. Legal na sa maraming bayan. Pakinabangan na ‘lang natin dahil kailangan ng gobyerno ng pondo para labanan ang COVID-19. At lagyan ng safeguards, para kayang bantayan ng gobyerno,” he said.

“Otherwise, without a national government share and without national government regulations, it’s a free-for-all at the local level. That’s never good when you’re talking about gaming, an activity with valid public concerns," he added.—LDF, GMA News