THE Police Regional Office (PRO) in Davao has reported a total of 257 illegal gambling cases filed in court from January 1 to April 2 this year.

Data obtained from PRO-Davao stated that out of the 257 cases, 128 are in Davao City, 82 in Davao del Norte, 25 in Davao del Sur, 11 in Compostela Valley, seven in Davao Occidental, and four in Davao Oriental.

The police in the region so far conducted 260 operations that led to the arrest of 518 violators of the Anti-Illegal Gambling Law, and confiscated a total amount of P134,405 bet money from illegal gamblers.

Of this figure, Davao City Police Office (DCPO) posted the highest number of operations conducted at 129 with 245 individuals arrested and P51,556 cash seized from bettors.

DCPO formed the Anti-Illegal Gambling Task Force geared to strengthen operation against illegal gamblers last year.

Under Section 4 of the Republic Act 9287, possession of any gambling paraphernalia and other materials used in the illegal numbers game operation is deemed prima facie evidence of an illegal gambling activity.