THE Games and Amusements Board (GAB) stepped up its campaign against illegal horseracing bookies over the weekend.
GAB Anti-Illegal Gambling Division personnel, headed by Glenn Pe and the Manila Police Department-DPIOU, led by Police Lt. Col. Levi Hope Basilio and Police Capt. Jervies Soriano, conducted a raid on an illegal bookies located at Penalosa St. in Tondo.
Arrested during the raid were Mary Rose De Vera, 27, and Norman Bautista, 28.
Appropriate charges are now being readied against the two.
The joint GAB and Manila Police raiding team arrested paraphernalias, such as TV monitor, racing program and bets.
Pe thanked the MPD for its continued support to the program of GAB stop the proliferation of illegal bookies, especially at the height of the general community quarantine being enforced by the Inter-Agency Task Force of Emerging of Infectious Diseases (IATF).
GAB Chairman Abraham “Baham” Mitra said the govenrment is losing a lot of money due to the illegal bookies.
Most of these illegal bookies have also openly violated the health and safety protocols being imposed by the government to prevent the spread of the coronavirus disease.
He said the GAB is directly coordinating with the different stakeholders in horseracing, including heads of the three racing clubs, to strengthen the online betting services for the sake of the horseracing community.
“Maka-aasa po ang bayang karerista na ginagawa ng pamunuan ng GAB, sa pangunguna ni Chairman Mitra at Commissioners Ed Trinidad at Mar Masanguid, na lalong mapalakas ang industriya ng karera at matulungan na mapanatili ang kanilang kalusugan sa gitna ng paglaban ng bansa sa COVID-19 pandemic,” said Pe.
