online sabong live

As an outcome of history and foreign influence, ‘Cockfighting,’ or more locally known as ‘Sabong,’ has become one of the most popular pastime traditions for the people in the Philippines. Considered as a blood sport between two gamecocks, Sabong is played by essentially pitting two gamecocks against each other and betting on which gamecock will come out glorious. Sabong initially served as a source of entertainment for the people during festivals and celebrations, but as the sport evolved, progressed, and became globally known and loved, it went on to be played not only during such activities, it also resulted to the sport being played on a world cup championship level, which the Philippines has hosted several times over the past few years.

The whole world may have gone into a halt, but not even a pandemic can stop the players, the bettors, and the patrons, from conducting underground Sabong operations. Conflict between authorities began to arise when people started conducting illegal cockfighting games amidst the pandemic, and it being unregistered and unregulated makes it even more unsafe.

So, in order to keep the cockfighting culture alive, people who are in the industry, the punters and the owners both, sought ways to continue conducting fights all the while ensuring its safety and legality to everyone participating. Thus, Online Sabong was born. Its fame is starting to arise more and more with each day and this is how it started.

Now, Online Sabong Live is not entirely a ‘present-day’ activity to the Filipinos, it’s just that the pandemic has simply urged the Filipinos to finally embrace technology. With the cockpit arenas shut down due to safety protocols because of the pandemic, cock derbies are held in private farms, where the live streaming of the cockfights happens. These livestreams have hosts who ensure and constantly oversee the streams to certify that the fights are being recorded live to avoid late broadcast which could result in bettors knowing which gamecock to wager on, which would then result to the agents and owners going bust.

IS ONLINE SABONG LEGAL?

Ever since, the regulation of live cockfighting is enforced by the Local Government Unit concerned. Conversely, regulation of online sabong is regulated by the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) pursuant to the PAGCOR Charter which in fact was clarified by the Office of the Solicitor General and the Department of Justice.  

From the time when online sabong started amassing thousands of people to participate, just like its live counterpart, there have been records of illegal online betting activities that authorities and law makers have been keen on making policies to ban said activities entirely or just make regulations allowing electronic sabong, or e-sabong. Thus, HB 8910 was enacted.

Approved by the Philippine Congress last February of the year 2019, what basically the bill does, or what it’s supposed to do, is to augment the functions of the body that oversees professional sports in the Philippines, which is the Gaming and Amusement Board (GAB). The bill also works in conjunction with the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) as it is being the nation’s governing body when it comes to gambling businesses.

HB 8910 does not seek to outlaw online sabong. The bill is aimed to regulate play and legislate the operations of such and eventually direct revenue towards civic assets. The bill also gives GAB the power to completely supervise the whole entirety of online sabong, including gambling regulations and governance in hopes of getting rid of all illegal activities to finally put online sabong into the spotlight of lawful gambling in the Philippines.

The GAB will also have control over the live transmission of all online sabong video feeds irregardless of broadcast venue as well as setting the guidelines for play, betting operations, number, and issuance of licences.

Meanwhile, PAGCOR’s e-sabong regulatory function is undertaken primarily by the e-sabong Licensing Department (ESLD). Its functions include the progress of the governing framework, processing of applications, issuance of PAGCOR Licenses to conduct e-sabong operations, and other related tasks.

Just recently, the House of Representatives, not without the concerns over its possible downsides, has approved the total legalization of online sabong and off-site betting on cockfights on the second reading of House Bill 8065, provided that it imposes taxes on off-site betting activities on locally licensed cockfights and derbies.

Through the recommendation of the House Committee on Ways and Means, the House of Representatives, rather than dealing with the church leaders concerns regarding the influence of gambling on the youth and families, just focused on the taxes to be imposed for such operations.

This Bill, according to a member of the House panel, will impose a five percent tax to e-sabong’s gaming operators similar to the tax levied on Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs), under Republic Act No. 11494 or Bayanihan 2.

PROS AND CONS OF ONLINE SABONG

Like everything in life, online sabong must exist with just the perfect balance of the yin and the yang. It comes with its benefits, or its pros, but it also comes with its disadvantages, or its cons. Here are some of its pros and its cons:

  1. Notable way to earn money – whenever you log in to your account and bet on your favorite gamecock, you are more than halfway there to earning money, all with just a simple click! You don’t even have to leave the comfort of your own home to earn a peso. Nothing sure can be better than this, right? And when you keep on winning,
  2. It relaxes the mind – Feeling really hassled, pressed, and need a pastime out your Kafkaesque life? Playing in online cockfighting will truly relieve you of your stress and all your stressors will be forgotten. You don’t even have to move a single muscle; with your handheld device and an internet connection, you’re good to go!
  3. Saves you time and money – Pandemic aside, this is most probably the main reason why people prefer to bet on online cockfight matches instead of the traditional one. For one, you don’t have to travel to the arenas just to bet on your gamecock. With online sabong, you don’t have to put in a lot of effort just to place your bets.
  4. Faster, convenient, and requires less space – Online sabong is what you want if you’re living a busy life and just want to have a little pastime one the side. You can just be anywhere and still bet on gamecocks and earn a lot of money. And besides, if the presence of people make you feel uncomfortable, go with e-sabong; less physical interaction, more space for you, much convenient, much better.
  5. Prone to gambling addiction – If the traditional sabong can cause people to be addicted to it, imagine what more can e-sabong, which is just at the convenience of your home, do to you. Always remember that in everything you do, do it in moderation.
  6. Data security – With all processes done online, it’s still really hard to find a betting site to trust. In some cases, your privacy may even be breached without you knowing. At the end of the day, it’s still much better to make sure that everything is and will be safe, just in case.

Now, before you can play e-sabong, you must be registered to a desired site that deals with online sabong. Here are the steps you may take if you want to be a player of e-sabong:

  • Fill in the details with right information.
  • Choose a username that you will use to login.
  • Choose a unique password, combination of letters and numbers that you can easily remember.
  • Enter your own phone number where you can contact the agent/site through text or voice call and vice versa.
  • Enter your Facebook account so you and the agent/site can reach each other through Messenger.
  • Text or message the agent/site after registration for fast approval.

After making an account, you are now officially a player! But wait, how do you cash in and cash out money? No worries, here are the steps:

cashin and cashout

For cashing in:

  1. Gcash:
  2. Cash in using the number given by the agent/site.
  3. Scan the QR Code (if there be any)
  4. Paymaya:
  5. Cash in using the number given by the agent/site in any 7-11, Smart Padala Center, or Pay To Go branches available nearby
  6. Bank Transfer:
  7. Contact the agent/site to send you the bank details

For cashing out:

  1. Click the Withdraw button on top of your screen to make a withdrawal request.
  2. Enter your account details; username, where to send the money, account number, and the amount you wish to withdraw.
  3. Inform the agent/site that you have made a withdrawal request.
  4. Wait for a few minutes or until the agent/site has informed you that the money has been transferred to your account.
withdrawal
withdrawal

PANDEMIC ESCAPE: ONLINE SABONG

With the pandemic still ongoing, finding a way to kill the boredom brought about by being cooped up is seemingly getting harder and harder with each passing day. Parks are unavailable, you can’t go to the movies, border lockdowns and restrictions preventing you to travel, all the more add up to the melancholic atmosphere of being isolated brings to everyone. Fortunately for us, with the aid of technology, our days have finally started giving off color.  All because of e-sabong. Feeling down? E-sabong. Feeling stressed? E-sabong. Want to earn more income all the while having fun? E-sabong. But as always, in everything you do, always do it in moderation.