ASIATODAY.ID, JAKARTA – Philippine regulators have taken firm steps to revoke operational permits for overseas online gambling companies, most of which are from China.
Regulators will also cooperate with law enforcement to eradicate these operators. This closure is in line with President Ferdinand Marcos’ steps to give regulators time to close down Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO) which are suspected of having links to criminal activities. The President gave a deadline until the end of the year.
“There is no problem in closing POGOs because I can request national security and presidential orders,” said Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp (PAGCOR) chairman Alejandro Tengco, Wednesday, July 24 2024.
PAGCOR is a regulatory body that works in the president’s office. The online gambling industry has mushroomed in the Philippines since 2016 as operators took advantage of liberal laws to target customers in China. Citizens from China like to gamble, but the government prohibits it.
The number of POGO operators in the Philippines once reached 300, but many companies closed or moved due to the pandemic and strict tax regulations. There are now only 42 POGOs remaining operating with permits, which directly and indirectly employ about 63,000 Filipino and foreign workers.
Tengco said the challenge for law enforcement is to prevent these companies from operating underground. Additionally, the government will lose about 23 billion pesos per year from POGO permit fees and taxes. However, Philippine Economic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said that POGOs only contributed less than 0.5% to Gross Domestic Product.
“The benefits of banning POGOs outweigh the disadvantages,” he explained.
China has urged the Philippines to ban online gaming in support of a crackdown on cross-border gambling. De La Salle University international relations analyst Renato Cruz De Castro said this firm action would trigger a recovery in relations between the Philippines and China.
The President’s Anti-Organized Crime Commission said another crackdown on hundreds of illegal POGOs, involved in crimes such as fraud and human trafficking, would continue. (Reuters)
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