MANILA, Philippines — “There is no law that punishes internet gambling or on-line casino. Well settled is the principle that there is no crime when there is no law penalizing it,” the Court of Appeals (CA) declared in a decision.

With the ruling, the CA has ordered the dismissal of the illegal gambling charges filed by the Department of Justice (DoJ) in 2009 against the owners of the British Grand Vision International Co., Inc., a firm engaged in internet gambling and on-line casino at the Clark Special Economic Zone in Angeles City in Pampanga.

It granted the petition filed by Edgar Lim, a Filipino incorporator of the firm, in behalf of his Taiwanese partners and employees.

In 2006, some P30 million worth of cyber equipment used in on-line gambling was seized by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) during a raid at the premises of British Grand Vision International Co., Inc.

While the charges of illegal internet gambling filed against Lim and his co-respondents were dismissed by the Angeles City prosecutors office, the NBI and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PagCor) filed a petition for review before then Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez who reversed the findings of the prosecutors.

Lim elevated the case to the CA.

In a decision written by Associate Justice Amelita Tolentino, the CA said that the DoJ committed a grave abuse of discretion in holding that internet gambling or on-line casino is included in the illegal acts punishable under Presidential Decree No. 1602.

According to the CA, a careful reading of Section 1 of PD 1602 clearly showed that “there is nothing in it which would indicate that internet gambling or on-line casino is among those illegal acts penalized by the said law.