KSA Jueting?

Jueting in the Dessert...

The numbers racket that is Jueting has for the most part been quashed in the Philippines - although reports persist of small operations still going strong in some places - Like far flung parts of central Luzon.
Its replacement- the Small Town Lottery- a legal lottery called STL creates dozens of taxable legal alternatives - But at the same time - Jueting rackets overseas...
Have come to light in the wake of a gruesome find in a mine shaft area in Saudi Arabia.
6 people were found grusomely murdered and dismembered in what KSA Police there are linking to "Jueting " ala Saudi - although all forms of gambling are tightly controlled or effectively banned in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
where there are scores of workers and a cash flow there will be rackets to keep people desperate enough to work in dessert heat and take risks abroad in a region with war raging nearby- where being a foreign worker can be a dangerous life- Some gamble further and set up "other ways" to augment income.

" Jueting " a simple lottery based game that is found in most parts of the Philippines based on combinations of two numbers drawn daily is a simple gambling lottery that can promise a small cash windfall of between 350-800 times the amount bet.

The chances of winning are small actually - as with most games of chance - odds show a cube formula of 1,879 to 1 as a ratio of hitting one number - so double that figure to hit two numbers- so who ever runs the game stands to gain large amounts of cash.

There are places overseas where OFW's and other overseas Pinoys can bet legally - in Saipan for example where Jeuting is legally run. Other parts of Micronesia also have similar set-ups to allow for cultural games of chance.

But in the KSA; setting up any form of illegal lottery- is tantamount to a state crime that could result in the death penalty or harsh prison terms. That workers in a gold mine would try this at all shows just how desperate many people are to earn and risk their lives to running a illegal lottery.

The "Jueting" export lotteries and other games of chance like - Sabong - cockfighting also have taken root where-ever Filipino communities can be found. In historic Filipino town in Los Angeles small scale "numbers rackets" do on occasion happen. In Iraq's worker bases illicit gaming rooms for off duty workers offering masons and card games also abound - little is done to stop them by the US military or Iraqi authorities who are busier with other larger problems of security. Jueting on a small scale also exists in nearly every major overseas worker area where large groups of OFW's are found.

But Jueting is based on trust - and secrecy- what happened to the six murdered victims is still unclear. The fact that they were chopped to bits could be seen as a violent reaction to a profit sharing scheme or failure to pay out winnings or an attempt to inform authorities or rival Jeuting organizations fighting over turf.

The entire incident is sometimes seen in fights over turf in the past when the Rackets kingpin's fight over territory -violence is commonly known to happen and deaths are not unheard of in the fight to control proceeds.

It will be interesting to note as this case develops what Saudi Police officials uncover. There is more to be seen here than a simple case of murder - the case could be a eye opener into the extent of organized crime groups popping up in the Middle East led by Pinoys and victimizing pinoys overseas.

The Jeuting killings comes as "The financial intelligence unit at the [KSA] Ministry of Interior has been monitoring several sources possibly offering financial support to terrorist operations in the Kingdom, press reports said “The unit has received several reports of suspicious financial dealings and it is taking required measures to foil them,

The fact is also clear that rackets like Jeuting do create large amounts of cash - and - since it is highly illegal to engage in games of chance or gambling in the KSA some are wondering if the killing have come on last weeks intensified operations by Saudi police to crack down on illicit cash rackets like Jeuting "Saudi Arabia has been playing a leading role in the global campaign on combating terror financing and money laundering. The Saudi laws define as a criminal acts - money laundering, criminal activity, and, financing terrorist operations."

like I said there is more to be told in this story.. As the saying goes..."Abangan"