The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) has clarified that the hacked National Database of Restricted Persons is not a list of gambling addicts but a compilation of names of people who are not allowed to gamble, such as government officials.
PAGCOR issued the statement on Tuesday, September 2, after social media posts said that hackers were able to access the NDRP and erroneously claimed that the database was a list of gambling addicts.
PAGCOR said the list was likely obtained from one of its gaming licensees who have been given access to the NDRP so that they can screen and prevent restricted persons from gambling.
The PAGCOR’s Gaming Licensing and Development Department, which maintains the NDRP, said the restricted list has been going through much-needed updates and the state corporation has sought inputs from other government agencies.
Ma. Vina Claudette Oca, PAGCOR assistant vice president in charge of the GLDD, said the current database contains the list of more than 560,000 names only, mainly elected officials, from the Department of the Interior and Local Government’s website.
“The names on the list are not necessarily addicted gamblers; most are government officials who, by law, are not allowed to enter gambling establishments, thus their inclusion in the NDRP,” Oca said.
“There are also 1,711 banned persons in the NDRP. These are individuals who have been subject to requests for self-exclusion, family exclusion or exclusions initiated by our licensees, but they are not necessarily addicts or government officials,” PAGCOR said. (PNA)
