Philippine Authorities Tighten Enforcement Against Illegal Offshore Gambling Operators

Philippine Defense Minister, Gilberto Teodoro (photo: x @chinogaston)

JAKARTA - Not only the Indonesian government, but the Philippine Authority has also launched attacks on illegal offshore gambling operators. Some of them are managed by Chinese companies, amid calls to ban these activities due to alleged links to criminal syndicates.

According to regulators in the Philippines, on Thursday, June 13, 250 to 300 offshore gambling companies operate in the Philippines without a license. This number is about six times that of 46 legal gambling operators in the country.

"Together with the police, we are looking for these illegal operators, conducting raids, and closing them down," said Alejandro Tengco, chairman of the Philippines Amusement and Gaming Corp (PAGCOR).

The online gambling industry emerged in the Philippines in 2016 and grew rapidly as operators took advantage of the country's liberal game laws to target customers in China, where gambling is prohibited.

At its peak, the Philippine offshore gambling operator, or POGO, reaches 300 and employs more than 300,000 Chinese workers. However, the pandemic and stricter tax rules have forced many of them to move or operate secretly, Tengco said.

This action was triggered by reports of crimes related to POGO such as human trafficking, torture, kidnapping, and fraudulent activities such as abuse of credit cards, crypto investments, and "love fraud" - when criminals adopt fake online identities to convince victims to give them money.

In March, law enforcement raided POGO facilities in Pampanga province resulting in the rescue of more than 800 workers, including Filipinos and Chinese.

Security officials have also expressed concern over the illegal POGO, in which the defense minister said a criminal syndicate disguised as POGO was a matter of national security, while the national security board said this illegal activity should not be tolerated.

"It is our concern that we must stop the criminal activities of syndicates operating from our base, which undermine our financial position, rank our country, (and) damage our society," said Philippine Defense Minister Gilberto Teodoro in a statement on Wednesday, June 12.

Tengco from PAGCOR said game regulators would comply with the government's final decision regarding POGO, which may include a ban on the industry as a whole. The government is expected to generate 24.5 billion pesos this year from POGO costs and taxes from 46 licensed POGOs, half of them Chinese companies, Tengco said.