GHL Systems to provide wireless terminals for STL in its fight against illegal betting
Deployment of GPRS handheld terminals to sieve illegal bookies from bona fide bet collectors
Phillipines, June 19, 2008 - Leading end-to-end payment services enabler
GHLSYS Philippines (GHLSYS) is set to be the major technology provider for
Small Town Lottery (STL) a franchise under the Philippines Charity
Sweepstakes Operation (PCSO) banner.
This initiative is meant to curb illegal betting which has siphoned significant
revenues that go into the government's charity fund.
PCSO will begin issue GHLSYS wireless terminals to its STL agentcorporations
around the country as a definitive measure to capture all bets
that should go to STL. The first phase of the project is expected to be
launched early July this year.
In the latest development, GHLSYS was also awarded 100% of the first phase
which comprises the deployment of 700 terminals. In May this year, the
GHLSYS team has successfully conducted a pilot test in Occidental Mindoro.
PCSO's further aims to deploy a total of 70,000 terminals over the next few
years.
Herve Alfieri, General Manager for GHLSYS Philippines, says, "We are
extremely pleased to be part of this very important initiative that highlights the
successful adoption and integration of GHLSYS' cutting-edge payments
technology in everyday life to curb fraud while promoting integrity in every
transaction be it gaming or payments."
The wireless handheld terminals are connected via GPRS to secure payment
routers. Punters will key in their bet details via the terminals which will then
transmit the transaction directly to STL. Once the transaction is completed,
punters will then be issued a unique 2-D barcode receipt with digitized
patterns. The official receipts will replace the current yellow PCSO sheets
stamped with "PCSO" which are easily duplicated- where the same sheets are
also used for illegal operations.
Currently STL agents are competing against the "juetengs" and "masiaos",
illegal bookies who are causing significant revenue discrepancies. STL works
as a democratized form of grassroots-based lottery and charity whereby
percentages of the revenues are distributed to the government's charity fund
at local, provincial and national level.
The wireless terminals will be deployed in several phases at different regions,
beginning with Mindoro and Bicol. Subsequent phases will cover 5 other
provinces namely Olongapo City, Silay City, Tarlac, Iloilo City, and Nueva
Ecija.