A new tactic has emerged: POGOs rebranding themselves as business process outsourcing (BPO) companies and moving down south of the Philippines.
The Philippine offshore gaming operator (POGO) industry, once a booming sector, has been facing increasing scrutiny and regulatory pressure. Now, a new tactic has emerged: POGOs rebranding themselves as business process outsourcing (BPO) companies.
The Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) has warned that some POGO firms, after being fragmented into smaller groups, are adopting the BPO guise to evade detection. This strategy, according to PAOCC Director Winnie Quidato, poses a significant threat to the legitimate BPO industry.
"The large POGO companies that we have raided before are now breaking down into smaller groups. Some are even rebranding themselves as BPOs," Quidato stated in a Senate hearing, as reported by Manila Standard.
The hearing about POGOs was the Senate’s last, with the committee expected to wrap up the proceedings on November 26, 2024.
Senator Risa Hontiveros echoed these concerns, expressing fears that the reputation of the BPO industry could be tarnished by the actions of these disguised POGO operations. She has called for stricter monitoring and enforcement to prevent such rebranding.
During the hearing, PAOCC also bared that many POGO operations are relocating to the Visayas and Mindanao regions, often disguised as legitimate businesses.
PAOCC Director Winnie Quidato stated that the agency has observed a significant increase in POGO activities outside of Luzon. “Because PAOCC is active in Luzon, we found that most of POGOs are now in several Visayas areas and even Mindanao. They are there now,” he said.
To further conceal their operations, Quidato noted that former POGO employees are rebranding themselves as BPO workers. "We've been monitoring those who used to work for POGOs, and we've observed that some only change their names at the SEC and pretend to be BPO," he explained, as reported by the Inquirer.
Read related article: PAGCOR Calls For Vigilance Amid POGOs “Masquerading” As BPOs
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