A farmer from Echague, Isabela who used to benefit from online cockfighting or e-sabong, is still struggling with lost income amid low demand for his animal feeds.
Jay-ar Dagman said his animal feeds business had experienced drastic cuts in income due to the e-sabong ban.
“Bumaba po at mahina po ‘yung demand ng mais [dahil sa suspensiyon ng e-sabong]. Walang kumukuha sa amin,” Dagman said.
“Last year po kasi marami ‘yung mga kumakain na baboy at manok, e ngayon kaunti na lang pinapakain, mga baboy na lang,” he added.
Sources said the ban on e-sabong may have impacted the livelihood of about 3.2 million Filipinos that come from the various businesses built around the gamefowl industry.
“Mahirap kasi mahal ‘yung mga bilihin tulad ng mga abono na ginagamit namin para lumaki ‘yung mga mais namin. Bumababa naman ‘yung demand nila,” Dagman said.
“Pababa ‘yung presyo ng mais gawa ng kakaunti ‘yung demand ng mais,” he added.
In May 2022, former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte ordered the termination of e-sabong operations nationwide.
At its peak, the e-sabong industry reportedly generated P650 million per month in revenue for the state-run Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation.
At least P1.37 billion was collected from the seven licensed e-sabong operators from January to March 2022.
However, with e-sabong out, PAGCOR projected a revenue loss of up to P5 billion for this year.