The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) today said 10 Chinese nationals and 26 Filipinos have been arrested in two separate operations against illegal gaming operations and online scams in Laguna and Parañaque City since Tuesday.

The first operation in Biñan, Laguna on Tuesday, May 1, resulted in the arrest of 16 people who were running an illegal online raffle on Facebook. The raiders are from the Philippine National Police Anti-Cybercrime Group (PNP-ACG) and the PAGCOR security group.

The suspects, which run the FB Page Lucky Dream 4, were caught red-handed in their office located inside a subdivision while livestreaming their 50th raffle event.

Earlier today, May 2, another group of suspects that included 10 Chinese nationals were arrested by joint elements of the CIDG-NCR and PAGCOR inside a house in Multinational Village, Parañaque for violation of the Anti Trafficking in Persons Act (RA 9208), Alien Registration Act (RA 562) and Cybercrime Prevention Act (RA 10175).

PAGCOR Chairman and CEO Alejandro H. Tengco said the arrests are part of the state gaming agency’s intensified campaign against illegal online gambling and other illicit activities through strengthened collaboration with law enforcement agencies.

“We have been receiving reports of illegal online activities including those in social media platforms. As the country’s gaming regulator, it is our duty to protect the public – especially the youth — from these illegal online gambling sites,” he said.

PAGCOR Senior Vice President for Security Cluster Raul Villanueva said Lucky Dream 4, which has 111,000 followers on Facebook, was conducting live online raffles that offered second-hand modified motorcycles as prizes.

Villanueva said that in one raffle event, the group can sell an average of 40,000 to 50,000 tickets, with each ticket costing Php40.

“They have amassed over Php8 million from the time they started this illegal online operation because in one draw, they can sell as many as 50k tickets,” Villanueva said.

“Ang masaklap nito, karamihan sa miyembro ng grupong ito ay kabataan. Ang pinaka-matanda sa kanila ay 27 years old pa lang,” he said.

“The Lucky Dream 4 group is obviously engaged in an illegal online gaming activity. Negosyo na ang ginagawa nila. They need to secure a license from PAGCOR if they want to operate an online gaming platform,” Villanueva added.

In the Parañaque raid, Villanueva said authorities arrested seven male and three female Chinese nationals believed to have been part of a group that managed to escape from an earlier raid on a large gaming compound in Bamban, Tarlac last March.

Nine Filipino female workers were also rescued, while one 1 Filipino male serving as a bodyguard was arrested for possession of an undocumented .45 caliber pistol.

The raiders also confiscated around 75 mobile phones, 30 desktop computers, 50 laptops, assorted credit cards, two cars and one motorcycle along with assorted Chinese government documents.

Two vaults were also found in the house located at 18 Teheran Street inside the exclusive subdivision.

Police said the Chinese suspects were engaged in scamming activities such as love and cryptocurrency scams similar to the illegal activities in the Bamban, Tarlac compound which was raided last March.

TalkEsport, India’s leading esports media platform, announced today the successful closure of its pre-series A funding round, securing a significant investment of $1 million from Saswat Ventures. The substantial investment underscores TalkEsport’s robust growth trajectory and reaffirms its position as a pioneering force in the esports industry.

Founded in 2011, TalkEsport was set up with a vision to bring timely news and updates to gaming communities worldwide. As India’s oldest esports media platform, the company now caters to millions of gamers worldwide through its website and social media channels. TalkEsport plans to utilize the investment to scale up its core website while launching a highly interactive application for its audience and setting up a state-of-the-art production studio in Mumbai. Through it, the company will be launching exclusive content IPs focused on gaming and esports.

“We are delighted to welcome Saswat Ventures as our strategic partner,” exclaimed Deepak Ojha, Founder and CEO of TalkEsport. “Their belief in our vision and commitment to the esports ecosystem align seamlessly with our mission to redefine gaming experiences globally. With this investment, we will be scaling up our newsroom to cater to gaming communities worldwide while launching new content IPs targeted towards Indian and international audiences.”

Saswat Ventures, a family fund set up by Mr. BL Sharma, Principal, shares a vision of catapulting TalkEsport into a global phenomenon. Mr. Sharma has businesses across the country and expressed his confidence in TalkEsport’s potential to revolutionize esports media and connect with a vast audience of passionate gamers worldwide, “We believe in TalkEsport’s potential to become a global platform for esports enthusiasts worldwide.”

Trilochan Sharma, a seasoned expert in compliance matters, joins TalkEsport’s board as the Director of Compliance. His wealth of experience will ensure adherence to regulatory standards and bolster the company’s governance framework.

In addition to this pivotal investment, TalkEsport is proud to announce key developments that highlight its commitment to innovation and growth:

Production Studio in Mumbai

TalkEsport is excited to unveil its state-of-the-art production studio in Mumbai. This cutting-edge facility will serve as the epicenter for creating high-quality esports content, launching content IPs, live broadcasts, interviews, and immersive gaming experiences.

Pranav Nalawade, the Editor-in-chief of TalkEsport, said, “Our new era of esports coverage will begin not only with TalkEsport’s revolutionary approach in publishing news and covering esports events but also high-quality esports content courtesy of our new production studio. As one of the oldest esports media platforms, we have built an audience that relies on us for our history of trustworthy and reliable news. Now, we want to double up on this audience, reforming the way content around esports is consumed in India and abroad through podcasts, media, short-form content, and analytical stories – both in the form of video and text.”

Upcoming Mobile App Launch

Furthermore, TalkEsport is gearing up for the launch of its mobile application soon. This innovative app promises to redefine how gamers access news, engage with esports communities, and participate in live tournaments, all from the convenience of their mobile devices.

“Proceeds of the $1 million will be utilized in creating a robust team of gaming enthusiasts and expanding our global reach,” added Deepak. “This investment not only propels TalkEsport’s growth initiatives but also fuels our mission to provide unparalleled experiences for esports enthusiasts worldwide.”

Through its application, esports viewers will be able to get live coverage of esports tournaments, scores, and interviews. Additionally, they will be able to participate in community tournaments, thus providing an end-to-end immersive experience from the convenience of their mobile devices.

The media company continues to lead the charge in transforming the esports landscape, fostering community engagement, and pushing the boundaries of gaming innovation. The company’s dedication to excellence, coupled with strategic partnerships and visionary leadership, sets the stage for an exciting chapter in esports media.

B2B gaming supplier Push Gaming returns to the nostalgic aesthetic of one of 2023’s biggest hits with its latest sequel, Retro Sweets.

Building from the success of Retro Tapes, the slot is again played across a 6×9 matrix but this time swaps audio cassettes with various tasty treats and instant win coins to represent its symbols in this cluster pay outing.

Wild candies make it easier to create winning clusters and also bring the game’s intuitive use of multipliers into play. For each successive win that a wild is a part of, its multiplier increases by 1x while multiplier symbols further increase win potential and provide a progression loop.

Elevating the gameplay further, Retro Sweets introduces the Instant Prize Multiplier which gives regular Instant Prize symbols the potential to form crazy winning clusters.

The now synonymous Cluster Links mechanic also benefits from the sweet collector feature, an augmented version of Retro Tapes’ Magnet mechanic, which gathers all non-clustered coins, symbols and wilds into the same part of the gameboard.

Providing increased player personalisation and amplified replayability, the Push Bet feature allows players to have one or two guaranteed wild candy symbols land on each spin with three needed to enter the bonus round.

Not only does this make entry to the bonus easier, but raises the potential of landing a greater number of wilds – more wilds mean more spins, opportunities to form connecting coins clusters and more maximum wins – continuing the Retro franchise’s synonymity with big prizes.

Retro Sweets blends nostalgic iconography and sound design with innovative mechanics that made the original title a multi-award winner. It follows other notable hits from the studio, including DJ Cat, Samuari’s Katana and Wild Swarm 2.

Senior Game Producer, Ihor Lozinskiy at Push Gaming, said: “Retro Sweets is a mouth-watering, mechanically rich title that amplifies the use of multipliers and offers more ways to win big. The evolved features are set to engage players and allow them to enjoy the slot in a variety of ways, tailored to their play style.

“We’re excited to be expanding upon the success of Retro Tapes and returning to the Cluster Link mechanic for one of our sweetest releases of the year.”