Editing Online Gambling (section)

===Description of Online Gambling===

:Since online gambling pertains to a whole gamut of gambling over the Internet, online gambling is not only limited to playing card games online. In fact, online gambling is a broad term used to describe anything and everything that requires the placing of bets. That includes online casino, online sports betting, online bingo and mobile gambling.

:How does online gambling work? There are two options for a gambler. One is to download the casino software onto the computer or one could try a real time applet running on the Internet. He/she can generally choose to play for free or for real money. If one decides to play for real money, one has to make a deposit into one’s account using one’s credit card or by some other form of cash transfer means. If one gambles, wins and wants to withdraw the winnings, one has to go to the website’s bank or cashier and request for cash-out. The bank or cashier will then send the check with one’s winnings through wire transfer or check or whichever manner one prefers. 

:PAGCOR ventured into the Internet Casino business not only to widen the gambling market of casino games like poker, and baccarat, but also to increase revenue. This was done by introducing Internet based gambling e-games which were developed by Philweb Corporation and regulated by the PAGCOR to the Philippine gambling market. Today, the total Internet Casino revenue in the Philippines averages at Php50 Million a month or Php1.896 Billion a year. 

:Young adults and yuppies today are going crazy over RPGs and other multiplayer online games. To ride with this craze, PAGCOR created an environment which caters to that market. Through this, e-games offer a different gambling and gaming experience from walk-in casinos. However, these cannot be played in any ordinary Internet café. As the government’s appointed gambling agency, PAGCOR established e-Games cafés and are open to franchisers which exclusively offer e-Games. This venture clicked because not every Filipino has unlimited access to the Internet and it is imbibed in the Philippine lifestyle to bet. 

:E-games are not only innovative and modern, it is also highly convenient. In order to play, all you have to do is visit PAGCOR e-Games Café, give them your cash and then you could play in your own computer terminal, at your own pace, in your own time. The fact that it is open 24/7 to anybody  21 years old and above gives a gambler no less of a reason to drop by.  Typical casino games can be played in these e-games terminals. These include Black Jack, “21” games like Caribbean 21, Face Up 21, Match Play 21, Pontoon, Super 21, Baccarat, Pai Gow Poker, War, Red Dog, Tri-card Poker and Vegas Three Card Rummy. Presently, these e-games could be played in Metro Manila and a few chosen provincial stations.

:The statement of Dennis Valdes, the president of Philweb Corporation, attests to the success of this venture. "The key driver of core Net Income continues to be our PAGCOR e—Games Cafes," noted Dennis Valdes, president of PhilWeb. "In 2008, we opened 45 new cafes, a 59% increase in outlets, ending the year with 121 cafes.”

:Aside from online casino, there are also sites which cater to online sports betting.  This is basically another form of gambling. These sites permit users to place bets on athletic competitions of every kind as well as other events like political elections or outcomes of reality TV shows like Pinoy Big Brother or Survivor.  In the Philippines, sports betting is made popular by ''BasketballJackpot''. Since basketball is considered the Philippines’ national sport, PAGCOR offered the first online sports betting in the Philippines. It is applicable to all the basketball events operated by the Basketball Leagues in the Philippines. However, it’s not only limited to the Philippine setting. You can also bet for basketball games in NBA leagues in the US. You can place as many bets in as many game formats as you wish. According to Philweb Corporation, the website aims to tap into the $10—billion worldwide Internet sports betting market. "This innovation presents a tremendous opportunity for PAGCOR to extend its reach to the overseas market;" said PAGCOR Chairman and CEO Efrain Genuino. The appeal of ''basketballjackpot.net'' lies in the fact that it combines the thrill of watching a basketball game and that of placing a wager into one accessible and convenient website which unfolds the result in one click of a mouse.

:Another one of PAGCOR’s accredited online betting website is ''XchangeBet''. It is an exchange for betting transactions conducted between customers. The exchange provides registered customers with an automated facility for the placing of bets with each other. In ''XchangeBet'', the customers are the ones who create the bets, set the odds of the bets, and most importantly, set the payouts for those bets. All customer winnings are automatically credited to the customer's ''XchangeBet'' account.

:''BasketballJackpo''t is operated from a network of kiosks called Internet Sports Betting Stations or ISBS. PhilWeb had a total of 149 ISBS as of end—December 2008. ''Premyo Sa Resibo'' or PSR is a mobile raffle operated on behalf of the Bureau of Internal Revenue with the objective of increasing tax revenues by uncovering companies that do not issue proper receipts. Since its inception in June 2006, PSR has awarded over P120 million in prizes and continues to pick a new millionaire every two weeks. ''Txtingo Super Singko'', PhilWeb's newest product, is a mobile lottery, with a daily draw giving ‘texters’ the chance to win P10 million outright. This is the first Philippine multi-million peso jackpot SMS lottery.

:However, these are but just the types that are legalized by PAGCOR. It is inevitable that illegitimate online gambling operations exist since gambling as an industry is generally profitable.