President Rodrigo Duterte has lifted the suspension of small-town lottery (STL) operations subject to conditions, including the posting of a hefty bond that the state-run lottery agency could forfeit in case of non-remittance of the government’s share of receipts.

“The suspension on STL will be lifted upon compliance of certain conditions. Those compliant franchise holders will have to give three months deposit, those non-compliant will have to pay their arrears. There will be a waiver from suits. Franchise holders can not sue,” Palace spokesman Salvador Panelo said.

“Any violation of any of the conditions contained in the implementing rules and regulations will mean revocation of the licence to operate the STL,” he said.

Royina Garma, general manager of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO), said authorized agent corporations (AACs) “shall deposit to the PCSO a cash bond equivalent to three months of the PCSO’s share in the guaranteed monthly retail receipts (GMMRR) on top of their existing cash bonds.”

“Second condition, upon failure to timely and fully remit their GMMRR during the duration of operations, the AAC’s cash bond equivalent to three months of the PCSO’s share in the GMMRR shall be automatically forfeited in favor of PCSO, without prejudice to the other remedies that may be exercised by the government,” Garma said.

“Third condition, each AAC shall execute a written undertaking that it shall comply with its obligations under the STL agency agreement and will not institute any claims, monetary or otherwise against the government and or apply for a temporary restraining order or injunction from any court to prevent the government from exercising its rights and prerogatives.”

“And fourth condition, the STL agency agreement shall automatically be terminated upon violation of the conditions of their franchise and or any of the above conditions without prejudice to the other remedies that may be exercised by the government,” the official said.

On July 26, President Duterte ordered all gaming schemes operated by the PCSO, including all franchises issued by the agency, to be immediately suspended, citing “massive corruption.”

Days later, Panelo announced the resumption of online lotto operations. (PressONE.ph)