A conflict of some type appears to be developing in the Philippines. The nation and its authorized lottery operations are on one side. The assassination of a lottery dealer last month demonstrated that illegal lottery and gambling operators on the other side would do anything to seize power. According to regional media outlets, Cotabato City Mayor Bruce Matabalao has ordered a prompt end to Small-Time Lotteries (STLs) as of Monday. Concerns over the rising number of threats that the city's STL merchants are seeing led to this. Vendors in the city and other places have banded together to alert the authorities to the threat that illicit gaming operations are posing to them. They are mainly run by organized crime groups that are active in different locations