THE Philippine National Police (PNP) Anti-Cybercrime Group (ACG) arrested 94 individuals over the weekend for alleged illegal gambling activities via raffle in San Vicente, Tarlac.
In a press conference Wednesday, July 2, 2025, PNP-ACG Director Brigadier General Bernard Yang said they were tapped by the concerned local government unit to verify the legitimacy of a group that had sought permission to use a facility for a raffle draw.
Through cyber patrolling and verification with concerned government agencies, including the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor), and the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO), the PNP-ACG found that the group had no permit to conduct such activities, contrary to what they claimed on their online platforms.
Yang said the organizers, through their agents, were selling each raffle ticket online for P20.
The raffle prizes included a sports utility vehicle worth P4.5 million, a business package and a lot worth P1 million each, a wedding package worth P500,000, and other consolation prizes.
"“Based on our verification through cyber patrolling this operation (has been ongoing) for already five years and every month meron silang pa-raffle in different places so hindi lang isang venue ‘yung pinaglalaruan nila kumbaga they went to different places just to have this monthly raffle. So ‘yung mga sumasali rito are from different provinces nearby," Yang said.
(Based on our verification through cyber patrolling, this operation has been ongoing for about five years, and every month they conduct a raffle in different places. So it’s not limited to one venue, they move around for these monthly raffles. Participants come from various nearby provinces.)
“As alleged, wala talagang legitimate winners na na-identify tayo kasi kung ikaw nanalo, for example, sa isang raffle, kahit papaano ina-advertise mo yan sa social media platforms and then as alleged sabi nung ibang mga tumataya ‘yung mga nananalo belongs to the inner circle, ‘yung mga hinuli natin. I was able to talk to one nagbili ng tiket doon, he spent P250,000 worth of money to buy raffle tickets. He is from Baguio, dumayo siya doon sa Tarlac just for that raffle,” he added.
(As alleged, we have not identified any legitimate winners. Typically, if you win in a raffle, you post about it on social media. But according to some bettors, the winners usually belong to the organizers' inner circle. One person I spoke to from Baguio spent P250,000 on raffle tickets and even traveled to Tarlac just for the draw.)
Among those arrested were three financiers, 18 administrative staff, 46 head distributors, 19 distributors, and 11 agents.
They are facing charges for violating Presidential Decree 1602 (illegal gambling) in relation to Section 6 of Republic Act 10175, or the Cybercrime Prevention Act.
Yang warned the public against similar operations, which he tagged as a “raffle scam.” (TPM/SunStar Philippines)