GenSan padlocks 14 ‘illegal’ STL outlets

GENERAL SANTOS CITY -- The city government has shut down 14 Small Town Lottery (STL) stations or outlets that were considered “operating illegally” in parts of the city.

Geraldine Zamora, chief of the permits and licensing division, said Thursday the move is in line with the crackdown ordered by City Mayor Ronnel Rivera against STL outlets that are violating local government regulations.

Zamora said they padlocked the STL outlets during the initial round of enforcement activities on Wednesday with the assistance of the local police. Closed down were STL outlets operating within 200 meters of schools, churches and other religious institutions.

She said such prohibition was based on the provisions of the concurrence resolution for STL that was passed by the City Council last June.

“We found several other outlets with the same violations but it appears that the attendants were tipped off about it earlier as they were already closed when we came,” she said.

Zamora said the padlocked STL outlets were all operated by the Trento Gaming and Leisure Corp., the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office’s (PCSO) authorized agent corporation for the area.

She said they will conduct more surprise inspections and enforcement activities in the coming days for other STL outlets within the city’s 26 barangays.

The official said most of the remaining outlets operated by Trento are considered illegal as they violated the city government’s regulation that limits their number to just 45. The City Council set the maximum number of outlets to not more than 110 but issued the authority to Rivera to determine the exact figure.

Based on assessments conducted by the city police, Trento has been operating “more than 200” STL outlets.

City Councilor Franklin Gacal Jr., chair of the committee on games and amusement, said he received reports that the active outlets in the city has reached "almost 300."

A PCSO report showed that Trento alone was operating a total of 105 STL stations. Such figure does not include the 17 lotto outlets operated by Trento that doubles as STL stations and other local lotto outlet operators that applied for authority from the firm to sell STL tickets.

“The City Council’s concurrence was not absolute. It has conditions that the operator (Trento) must comply (with),” Zamora noted.

The city’s charter, Republic Act No. 9649, requires the PCSO and other concerned entities to seek the city council’s concurrence before they can operate any type of gaming in the city. (PNA)