PAGCOR Chairman Cancels POGO and IGL Licenses by Year-End

PAGCOR Chairman and CEO Alejandro Tengco informed lawmakers on Tuesday that the regulator would treat POGOs (Philippine Offshore Gaming Licensees) and IGLs (Internet Gaming Licensees) the same, in line with the President’s POGO ban. He confirmed that the licenses of the 43 existing licensees would be canceled by the end of the year.

Tengco’s comments came during a Senate hearing on POGOs, following President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s announcement during his State of the Nation Address on Monday that he was banning POGOs, with no new licenses to be issued and existing licenses to be phased out by the end of 2024.

Last year, PAGCOR revoked the licenses of all existing POGO operators, requiring them to reapply under the new IGL scheme. Tengco confirmed that the rebranding aimed to remove the negative stigma associated with POGOs and emphasized that there would be no distinction between the two when the industry was shut down.

“No problem in closing down POGOs because I can invoke national security and the President’s order,” he stated. “The President’s order was clear. I’ll abide by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s order.”

The Presidential Communications Office also noted that “Internet gaming licenses are included in the ban,” according to PhilStar.

Previously, Tengco had expressed a preference for regulation over a ban, warning that a ban would not eliminate illegal operators and could push legal operators underground. He highlighted that the 43 licensed IGLs employ around 40,000 local and 23,000 foreign workers, and that the government would lose approximately Php23 billion in annual license fees and taxes due to the ban.

The POGO industry, launched in 2016 under the Duterte administration, employed over 97,000 foreign nationals at its peak before declining significantly during the pandemic.

The Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) acknowledged the potential for POGOs and IGLs to go underground. Spokesman Winston Casio stated, “That doesn’t mean all of them would leave and pack up their bags. A good number of these would still remain and simply go underground. Now, that is the challenge, but the different agencies of government are fairly competent to meet that challenge head-on.”

Source: IAG