Philippine police are intensifying their crackdown on illegal online cockfighting. On April 12, police in Solano City, Nueva Vizcaya, raided a cockfighting arena in the Rojas community, arresting 26 individuals suspected of participating in illegal online cockfighting, with seized gambling funds amounting to 616,250 pesos. Interestingly, the police traced connections to another illegal online cockfighting case in Aparri City, Cagayan Province the day before, indicating typical cross-regional criminal activities. According to Major John Anthony Sanchez, chief of the Solano City Police Station, those arrested included not only ordinary participants but also the online streaming operators and the cockfighting arena managers—key cogs in the grey industry chain responsible for live streaming the fights and guiding online betting, as well as managing the order within the arena to facilitate the gambling operations.
From tip-offs to precise raids
This raid was not a spur-of-the-moment decision. The police had received multiple reports of covert illegal online gambling activities at the Solano cockfighting arena. Unlike traditional onsite cockfighting, this group used live streaming to broadcast the fights and attract more online betting, significantly exceeding the scale of ordinary gambling operations. After receiving the tip-offs, the police chose to bide their time, quietly investigating to confirm the reports before organizing a swift raid. The operation was executed cleanly—officers immediately controlled all suspects upon entering the arena, giving no one a chance to escape, and all 26 suspects were apprehended on the spot.
The list of seized items from the site was quite "rich":
• 616,250 pesos in gambling cash;
• Numerous betting tickets and receipts;
• 3 computers, 5 mobile phones, 4 routers, 2 LED monitors;
• Other equipment used for online cockfighting live streaming and betting.
These devices, now confiscated by the police, served as the "blood-making tools" of the entire illegal industry chain.
The tip of the iceberg in a cross-regional network
Preliminary investigations reveal a more complex scenario than a single raid suggests. This group was not first-time offenders; they are likely part of the same cross-regional illegal gambling network, specializing in moving between provinces to evade police pursuit. This "hit-and-run" guerrilla tactic reflects the evolution of Philippine illegal online cockfighting from isolated incidents to an organized, networked grey industry.
While tracking Southeast Asian gambling law enforcement dynamics, PASA's official website noted that although there are nominally legal channels for online cockfighting in the Philippines, the number of unlicensed underground platforms far exceeds licensed institutions, leading to secondary crimes such as telecommunications fraud and mass brawling, which have become a stubborn public security problem.
The significance of dual legal accountability
The 26 arrested suspects are now detained at the Solano City Police Station, awaiting further proceedings. They face serious charges—not only for violating the Presidential Decree No. 1602 on illegal gambling but also for using the internet to engage in illegal activities, violating the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 (Republic Act No. 10175). The dual legal accountability implies a high expectation of hefty fines and even imprisonment.
This action by the Solano City police not only dismantled an illegal hub but also led to related cross-regional cases, sending a clear message: even if criminals move between provinces, the law enforcement's information sharing and coordination mechanisms are sufficient to break through geographical barriers. The police are likely to continue digging deeper into the clues they have to uproot the entire illegal gambling network.
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This article is from "PASA-Global iGaming Leaders," a gambling industry news channel: https://t.me/pasa_news
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