Philippines president issues ban on all POGOs after "grave abuse" of system
All operators to be banned before the end of the year and hundreds of thousands of workers will see their fate put in the hands of the government's Department of Labour and Employment
Philippines president Ferdinand Marcos Jr has declared that all Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) will be banned with immediate effect.
No further authorisations will be granted, while existing POGOs have until the end of the calendar year to cease operations.
POGOs, which are mainly Chinese-backed and have been operating in the Southeast Asian country since 2003, were first regulated by Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) since 2016 when hardliner Rodrigo Duterte took office as president.
Today, the industry employs hundreds of thousands of people, many of which are Chinese nationals hired to assist with offering gambling services to Mainland China where almost all most forms of gambling are illegal.
“Effective today, all POGOs are banned,” Marcos announced. “I hereby instruct PAGCOR to wind down and cease the operations of POGOs by the end of the year.”
Marcos issued the update during his third State of the Nation address (SONA) in Manila on Monday, 22 July, with the news coming off the back of growing concern over POGOs following a number of reported controversies.
As per the continent’s B2B industry print and digital publication, Inside Asian Gaming, a flurry of recent raids on illegal POGO compounds in Pampanga and Tarlac are alleged to have uncovered evidence linking them to human trafficking, prostitution and torture, among other crimes.
In May 2023, POGO provider CGC Technologies had more than 1,000 computers seized after being accused of credit card fraud and human trafficking.
The president continued, issuing a scathing assessment of POGOs as he added: “Disguising as legitimate entities, their operations have ventured into elicit areas beyond gaming, such as financial scamming, money laundering, prostitution, human trafficking, kidnapping, brutal torture – even murder.
“The grave abuse and disrespect to our system of laws must stop. It is necessary to stop this disturbance in our society, and desecration of our country.”
The Department of Labour and Employment, a executive department of the Philippine government, has been deployed to help oversee new jobs for the Filipinos impacted by the immediate ban.
The country’s House of Representatives agreed to initiate Marcos’ instructions, with House speaker Martin Romualdez announcing: “The president’s SONA will provide a clear roadmap, and the House is prepared to translate this vision into tangible legislative outcomes.
“We are prepared to hit the ground running and deliver on our promises to the public.”
A Senate investigation into POGOs unearthed other issues, including fake birth certificates being bought by foreign nationals as well as the now-suspended mayor of Bamban, Tarlac, Alice Guo, suspected of being a Chinese spy – a claim promoted in part by the amount of Chinese workers within the gaming sector.
A warrant was subsequently issued for Guo’s arrest in relation to offshore gambling crimes, but after she failed to attend two different court hearings, officials fear the mayor may have fled the country.
Meanwhile, the government’s Department of Finance, which has given the ban of POGOs its backing alongside the National Economic and Development Authority, has revealed that by allowing POGOs, the decision is costing the country around ₱99.5bn (£1.32bn) a year.
Philippines senators Sherwin Gatchalian, Risa Hontiveros and Aquilino Pimentel III, all called for the ban of POGOs earlier on this month.
Just last month, Senator Joel Villanueva went one step further and encouraged the implementation of a ban on all forms of online gambling in the region, having pushed for a ban on POGOs since 2022.
However, PAGCOR chairman and chief executive Alejandro Tengco responded by defending legitimate POGOs, despite evidence of torture and other forms of criminal activity.
Tengco insisted that instead of a blanket ban on POGOs, more effective regulation was the answer.
Last year, all licence holders in the Philippines market were required to undergo a re-licensing process, reducing the number of internet gaming licensees (IGL) from 298 to 43.
Just days prior to Marcos’ announcement to ban POGOs, a special task force was created by the Philippine National Police (PNP) to identify and punish illegal POGOs.