Names on hacked Pagcor list not gambling addicts
The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) said on Tuesday that its National Database of Restricted Persons (NDRP) is not a list of persons addicted to gambling but of those who are not allowed to gamble, including all government officials, in any of its authorized gaming centers.
It added that the hacked NDRP list did not come from the agency but was “likely obtained” from one of its gaming licensees that has access to it.
Pagcor made the clarification in response to social media posts that hackers were able to gain access to the database, which they claimed contained the personal information of gambling addicts.
The Pagcor Code of Practice defines the NDRP as “a list of names with their personal information compiled and updated by Pagcor who are prohibited from entering and from playing in specific Pagcor-authorized gaming premises in the Philippines.”
Classified information
It also states that “all information and data, especially the identity of excluded persons, must be treated as classified information by the designated personnel of stakeholders of the Philippine gaming industry who are given access to the NDRP.”
Vina Claudette Oca, Pagcor assistant vice president for the Gaming Licensing and Development Department, which maintains the NDRP, said the database has over 560,000 names, mostly those of elected government officials, which were taken from the website of the Department of the Interior and Local Government.
“The names on the list are not necessarily addicted gamblers; most are government officials who, by law, are not allowed to enter gambling establishments, thus their inclusion in the NDRP,” Oca said in a statement.
The list also includes 1,711 persons who are banned from gambling in any Pagcor-authorized gaming center based on requests for self-exclusion or exclusions from the agency’s gaming license holders.
“[B]ut they are not necessarily addicts or government officials,” Oca said, adding that the database is being updated since it was “far from complete since there are millions of government workers nationwide.”
Gambling hotspot Las Vegas also has its own “Excluded Person List,” which shows profiles of individuals who are determined by the Nevada Gaming Commission and the Nevada Gaming Control Board to pose a threat to the interests of Nevada, or to licensed gaming, or both.
Those on the list include persons with prior convictions of felonies involving “moral turpitude” or the violation of gaming laws in any state; and notorious or “unsavory” reputations that negatively affect the public’s confidence and trust in the gaming industry, among others.
Another gambling hub, Macau, does not have a similar list, although the government allows for voluntary exclusion from any or all gambling casinos. —WITH A REPORT FROM INQUIRER RESEARCH
