The Philippines have taken a major step towards legalized, online wagering for cockfighting, and making sure they get their taxes for it as well. The House Committee on Ways and Means have approved, at least in principle, a measure imposing taxes on what’s locally called sabong.

The measure specifically seeks to create transparency around cockfighting broadcast online, so that the government can figure out how much tax its owed. “The operations of online betting on sabong are authorized by local ordinances,” said chairman Joey Salceda. “Because of the digital shift, there are now electronic betting operations on such games. But the electronic aspect of it is a gray area, even though the airwaves is national property.”

“Because of this ambiguity, we are unable to levy national taxes on these activities. By clarifying this gray area in my proposal, we hope to raise multiples more in revenues than the BIR (Bureau of Internal Revenue) collection from cockpits of P13.7 million ($280,000) in 2019,” he added.

The measure seeks to impose a tax regime on “Offsite Betting Activities on Locally Licensed Games,” but will not aply to “games and activities specifically authorized by law to be performed by the government gaming authorities, such as the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) and the Philippine Charity and Sweepstakes office (PCSO).” A new 5% tax would be imposed on gross revenue, in addition to local taxes and regulatory fees.