Asia
PAGCOR turns over P571 million grants to eight LGUs
The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) turned over a total of P571.58 million to the provinces of Pampanga, Bataan, Zambales, Nueva Ecija, Aurora, Ilocos Norte, Masbate and Leyte on June 28, 2022.
PAGCOR Chairman and CEO Andrea D. Domingo said the financial grants will be used for the upgrading of hospital equipment and augmentation of the local governments’ medical facilities.
The province of Pampanga received P190.5 million. Of this amount, P100 million was allotted for the completion of Pampanga Provincial Hospital – Clark Annex as instructed by former President Rodrigo Duterte, while the remaining P90.5 million will be used for the procurement of 40 units of dialysis machines and one unit of CT scan machine.
Pampanga’s Provincial Administrator Atty. Charlie Chua said the hospital will cater to around 125,000 employees in Clark and other patients from nearby provinces. “Yung dialysis machines at CT scan naman ay gagamitin sa dalawang dialysis centers sa Districts 4 at 2 na itatayo sa Pampanga,” he added.
Meantime, the province of Bataan received P102.06 million which will be used for the procurement of various medical/hospital equipment for the COVID-19 facility and Mariveles District Hospital (MDH)-Imaging and Diagnostic Center of the province.
MDH Chief Doctor Hector T. Santos said the donation will enable them to cater to more patients after serving as a COVID facility for two years.
“Early this year lang kami nakapag-resume ng operations ng lahat ng services. Kaya napakalaking timing ng grant ng PAGCOR. Una, magagamit ito sa pagpapa-gawa ng temporary ICU para kung magka-surge ulit ng COVID, prepared tayo. Second, i-a-upgrade natin ang ospital at makakabili na tayo ng diagnostic modalities, like CT Scan, Ultrasound, mga Digital X-Ray. Sabi nga ni Gov. Alberto Garcia, kung napakalaki ng province at development, ang healthcare hindi dapat napapag-iwanan,” Santos shared.
The provinces of Zambales and Nueva Ecija, meanwhile, received P100 million each.
According to Zambales Provincial Legal Officer Atty. Jo Ellaine Collado, the financial grant will be utilized to upgrade their provincial hospital. “Currently, our hospital is under level 2. But with the P100 million-donation from PAGCOR, we will get to level 3 to increase our bed capacity from 150 beds to 300 to 500, hopefully” she said.
Nueva Ecija Provincial Administrator Atty. Alejandro Abesamis said they will use the donation for the procurement of one unit of MRI machine and three units of ambulance.
Other provinces that received financial grants were Aurora (P54 million for the procurement of one unit of 64-slice CT scan equipment, anesthesia machine, and construction of a building to house the facilities) and Ilocos Norte (P15.05 million for the procurement of various hospital equipment).
Also, the municipality of Baybay in Leyte received P3.97 million for the purchase of various medical equipment intended for Immaculate Conception Hospital. The municipal government of Balud, Masbate also received P6 million for the construction of one unit school building, procurement of books, journals latest editions, furniture and fixtures, and laboratory equipment.
The recipients expressed their gratitude to PAGCOR for the agency’s generosity and timely support.
In the past six years (2016 – 2022), PAGCOR has infused more than one billion to several health-related programs of the national government and several public medical institutions, on top of its mandated contributions.
Africa
Hub88 partners with LiveGames to enhance content offering
Hub88 has partnered with live casino supplier LiveGames, further strengthening its product offering by adding a unique range of content to its platform.
LiveGames provides fully customisable online live dealer games and branded tables including the first vertical roulette table in the sector, along with crash games and the widely played Tombola.
The supplier delivers experiences with a player-focused design, easy to use mobile interface, and high-resolution broadcasts.
The partnership will support LiveGames’ goal to further expand in international markets, including Africa, Asia, and Latin America where Hub88 has a strong presence.
The deal showcases Hub88’s commitment to grow its ecosystem of partners, offering a diverse portfolio of products and content.
Ollie Castleman, Head of Hub88, said: “We’re thrilled to unveil this strategic partnership with LiveGames which sees us add a great provider to our platform, one that utilises modern technology to offer bespoke and personalised gaming experiences to players.
“We are looking forward to collaborating and strengthening our content library with their diverse games.”
The LiveGames Team said: “Our journey started in a small studio and as a team, we are excited about now expanding to every corner of the world together with Hub88 and their extensive operator network.
“We are committed to promoting innovation in the industry and this partnership will support us on that mission.”
Asia
Indonesian Govt to Form Task Force to Tackle Online Gambling
Indonesian President Joko Widodo has chaired a limited meeting which discussed the efforts taken to eradicate online gambling in the country on Thursday 18 April, at Merdeka Palace in Jakarta. Minister for Communication and Information Technology Budi Arie Setiadi, in his press statement after the limited meeting, said that the Government will form a task force to counter online gambling.
“It has been decided that within a week, we will formulate measures to form an integrated task force in order to eradicate online gambling,” Budi said.
Minister for Communication and Information Technology mentioned that forming a cross-ministries/institutions task force is aimed to handle online gambling more thoroughly, collaboratively and efficiently.
“Gambling is an illegal act based on regulations. So, we need to impose measures effectively to settle it,” Budi stated, adding that his ministry will focus on handling online gambling websites and contents, while the law enforcement officers will enforce the law.
“Our authority is only to take down the websites, while the Financial Services Authority (OJK) blocks their financial accounts, and then followed by law enforcement officers, police officers, and the public prosecution service officers,” he remarked.
Similarly, OJK’s Chairperson of Commissioner Board Mahendra Siregar also highlighted the importance of holistic measures in eradicating online gambling in Indonesia.
“Some online gambling activities are not conducted in Indonesia, some are cross-borders, some do not use bank accounts, some needs to be tracked and traced through bank accounts, including transfers and so on. So, the next layers must also be addressed, and that way it leaves no empty rooms,” Mahendra explained.
Mahendra said that according to the institution’s authority, from the end of 2023 to March 2024, OJK has blocked around 5000 bank accounts that indicate its relation to online gambling.
“So far, we have cooperated closely with Communications and Information Technology Ministry. So, if we receive a list of bank accounts suspected to be used or are being used in online gambling activities, we immediately block them, and it has reached up to 5000 bank accounts,” Mahendra mentioned.
Asia
Team ATK Oshun excels at 2024 Online Championships held on 13 April 2024
Mind Sports South Africa’s (MSSA) 2024 Online Championships held on 13 April 2024 showed sterling results.
The championship was yet another chance for many esports athletes to qualify for MSSA’s National Team Trials to be held on 25 May 2024 at which the team will be selected to officially represent South Africa at the African Qualifiers which lead up to IESF’s 16th World Esports Championships to be held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in October and November 2024..
All Registered Players who have finished in the top three places, or the top 20% – whichever is greater, are entitled to enter trials.
However, it must be remembered that all players must have a valid passport to participate in the National Team Trials.
It was indeed exciting to watch just how much all the female teams have improved.
Team ATK Oshun (ATK Club Sport) being a female team astounded all with their skill and sportsmanship. The team demolished all ATK Club Sport opposition to ultimately won the premier event overall and qualify for the National Team trials to be held on 25 May 2025.
IESF’s 15th World Championships will be played to the following titles:
- Counter-Strike 2
- Counter-Strike 2 – Female division
- DotA 2
- eFootball
- Mobile Legends, Bang Bang
- Mobile Legends, Bang Bang – Female division
- PUBGM
The high standard of play saw 37 Registered Players from six provinces being awarded Provincial Colours. Only Limpopo, Free State, and Northern Cape did not have Registered Players who did not earn provincial colours.
Title | Name of player/team | Club | Provincial Colours awarded |
Clash Royale – Premier | Johan Coetzee | Middies | Mpumalanga |
Clash Royale – High School | Aryan Maharaj | PR0NHS | |
Counter Strike: 2 | ATK Oshun | ||
Kaylee Ludick | ATK Club Sport | Gauteng | |
Jessica Eleez Greeff | ATK Club Sport | Gauteng | |
Christin Brazier | ATK Club Sport | Gauteng | |
Megan van der Westhuizen | ATK Club Sport | Gauteng | |
Kayhla Rose Calder | ATK Club Sport | Gauteng | |
DotA – Premier | ZAG DOTA 1 | ||
Suhail Khan | ZAG Academy | Gauteng | |
Travis John Waters | ZAG Academy | Western Cape | |
Mark Kilian Lehle | ZAG Academy | Gauteng | |
Mohammad Dhooma | ZAG Academy | Eastern Cape | |
Nicholas Dammert | ZAG Academy | Gauteng | |
eFootball – Premier | Aslam Parker | PES Society | Gauteng |
FIFA 24 – High School | Daiyaan Hendricks | PES Society | Western Cape |
Mobile Legends – Premier
|
Mavericks | ||
Matthew Tatalias | Mavericks | Gauteng | |
Damian Bransby | Mavericks | Western Cape | |
Preshan Pillay | Mavericks | Gauteng | |
Mohammad Azhar Ansari | Mavericks | KwaZulu Natal | |
Taygan Gabriel | Mavericks | KwaZulu Natal | |
Luke Green | Mavericks | Western Cape | |
Mobile Legends – Premier – Female
|
AHG | ||
Je’nielle Cavanagh | PES Society | Western Cape | |
Inez Pringle | PES Society | Western Cape | |
Salma Parker | PES Society | Western Cape | |
Ra’isha Prout | PES Society | Western Cape | |
Fatimah Prout | PES Society | Western Cape | |
Mia Anthony | PES Society | Western Cape | |
PUBGM
|
Team uEnvy | ||
Richard Henry | ZAG Academy | Eastern Cape | |
La-eeq Arendse | ZAG Academy | Western Cape | |
Kyle Dudley | ZAG Academy | Western Cape | |
Clayton Leak | ZAG Academy | Western Cape | |
Rocket League – Premier – 1 v 1 – Premier | Nathan Strange | Hoërskool Klerksdorp | |
Rocket League – Premier – 1 v 1 – High School | Luther Peens | Hoërskool Klerksdorp | |
Street Fightter V – Premier | Marnus van der Merwe | Hoërskool Klerksdorp | North West |
Tekken 8 | Stasch Cloeta | Team PlayBell | Western Cape |
Valorant – Premier
|
TuksValorant | ||
Tapiwanashe Keith Matema | TuksEsports | Gauteng | |
Kyle Halvorsen | TuksEsports | Gauteng | |
Jaden Connor Swarts | TuksEsports | Gauteng | |
Ronald James Tyler Wheeldon | TuksEsports | Gauteng | |
Alejandro Luca Sartini-Kruger | TuksEsports | Gauteng | |
Armand Pierre van der Colf | TuksEsports | Gauteng | |
Sportsmanship Award | Je’nielle Cavanagh | PES Society |
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