Philippines: Duterte lifts small town lottery ban but with some conditions

Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte has lifted the suspension of small town lottery (STL) operations nationwide, but it is subject to certain conditions, CNN reported quoting Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) General Manager Royina Garma.

STL agent corporations will have to a cash bond equivalent to three months of the PCSO’s share in the guaranteed minimum monthly receipts to PCSO which will be forfeited if agent corporations fail to remit their GMMR.

All PCSO games were earlier suspended by president Duterte after corruption suspicions were raised by authorities. Ban on some of PCSO games was lifted later but STL remained suspended as it was reported "more prone to corruption". The government has now made it clear that any violation of the new rules will be taken seriously and can even mount to termination of contracts.