TEXT-BASED GAMES – Pagcor inks MOA with Globe

The text-based games of Globe Telecom will now be under the control and supervision of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor).

Pagcor chairman Efraim Genuino said the decision was detailed in a memorandum of understanding (MOU) which Pagcor and Globe officials recently forged.

Signing on behalf of Pagcor were its president and chief operating officer, Rafael Francisco, and chief legal counsel, Carlos Bautista Jr. Rodolfo Salalima and Froilan Castelo, Globe’s senior vice president and assistant vice president for corporate and regulatory affairs, respectively, signed for the telecommunications company.

In a statement, Genuino thanked Globe officials for fully cooperating with Pagcor in establishing clear-cut guidelines governing its text-based games.

"With the popularity of text-based games, especially on television, the government deemed it right to assert Pagcor’s authority to operate and conduct all games of chance in the country. In so doing, we will ensure that all text games with an element of wagering offered by Globe to its subscribers are done in a fair and just manner," Francisco said.

The MOU capped months of negotiations between Pagcor and Globe. Under the agreement, Globe or any producer, content provider, sponsor, operator and proponent of text-based games which involve wagering shall first secure a certificate of affiliation or similar authority from Pagcor before it offers such games to the public.

For this purpose, Globe will establish a dedicated line for all text-based games falling under the jurisdiction of Pagcor.

In a certificate of affiliation, Pagcor will specify the costs to the participants of the text-based games, the charges for the use of Globe’s telecommunications facilities, as well as other terms and conditions.

The MOU also states that Globe shall not allow any variation, expansion or modification of existing games unless this is stated in the certificate of affiliation.

As a result of the MOU signing, Pagcor has filed a joint affidavit of desistance with the city prosecutor’s office in Manila, in effect withdrawing the earlier complaint it filed against Globe for the unregulated conduct of text-based games.

Last Dec. 19, Genuino signed a memorandum of agreement with Trade and Industry Secretary Mar Roxas, former Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) officer-in-charge Dennis Manicad, and National Telecommunications Commissioner Armi Jane Borje as a first step in regulating the popular text-based games.