ESABONG operators in the country have expressed support to a government plan to set up an independent regulator to oversee and professionalize the growing industry amid skyrocketing incomes in 2021 and early 2022 generated from the online cockfighting game.
Gamefowl Affiliates of Pitmasters-Philippines Batangas president Fermin Solis said his group will comply with whatever laws the government would enact to make online cockfighting a professional industry.
“Lahat naman ng bagay ay tama na mayroon dapat regulasyon, sapagkat tayo ay pumapasailalim sa batas. At maganda na rin naman na bagaman marami ang nakikinabang sa industriya ng [eSabong]… dapat mapatupad ang tamang regulasyon (We agree that the industry should be regulated especially since the industry is already benefitting many stakeholders),” Solis said in a press conference.
The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation has proposed the creation of an independent body that would regulate eSabong operations in the country, which it said has been contributing a lot to the corporation’s revenues.
Pagcor data show that eSabong operations throughout the country generated an estimated P640 million a month, or a total of P2.03 billion, in the first half of 2022.
Solis said that with the addition of modern technology, the eSabong industry will further be regulated in modern ways. He likewise said that with the professionalization of the industry, veterinaries, feed suppliers, and other stakeholders will have a sustainable economy and provide livelihood for other sectors.
