Philippines POGOs face tighter rules–to re-apply for operations license

The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR), the government regulatory agency of the gaming industry, will put up an upcoming regulatory framework.

Original story by Ben Blaschke for Inside Asia Gaming

The stringent stance was revealed by PAGCOR Chairman and CEO Alejandro Tengco at G2E Asia on Thursday, where he promised to “straighten out” the Philippines’ offshore gaming industry but showed no signs of shutting it down amid opposition from some sections of the political sphere.

Tengco said Thursday that PAGCOR, which recently celebrated its 40th year of public service, was determined to clean up the online gaming sector.

“Seeing that the current framework has become a means to cuddle various legal activities, we have decided to put all existing licensees and service providers under a probationary stance,” he said. “They will all have to reapply under a new framework and structure that we will be releasing soon.

“We shall undertake the painstaking process to weed out any unscrupulous companies and individuals using the PAGCOR license for illegal activities, tainting the name of the whole industry and, more importantly, the Philippines as a whole.

“With intensified coordination with relevant government agencies, we are confident that we will be able to straighten out and revive the industry once again.”

The development is a continuation of the country’s campaign against Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs).

Recently, a POGO hub in the country was raided by the Philippine Police. The raid led to the rescue of 1,284 foreign nationals and 1,534 Filipinos. The POGO hub was suspected to be the site of human trafficking and crypto scam activities.

Four Chinese fugitives are scheduled to be deported this week. Meanwhile, a component city of Metro Manila has recently issued a city-wide ban against POGOs and other gambling activities.
In the previous year, Pasig City, another city in Metro Manila, also instituted a city-wide ban on all POGO and online gambling operations, including technical services in support of the ban. All gambling operations must be out of the city by the end of 2023.

To add to operators’ woes, national figures have also made pronouncements in support of these recent developments against POGOs, with the country’s Finance Secretary saying that the revenue is not worth retaining the industry.

Senators have likewise urged the Marcos government to issue an absolute ban, with one senator saying that online gambling operators get away with ‘billions of unpaid taxes.

To read the original article and more of Tengco’s rationale for the policy shift, visit: https://www.asgam.com/index.php/2023/07/13/all-pogos-to-be-placed-on-probation-asked-to-reapply-for-licenses-under-new-philippines-regulatory-framework/