PAGCOR: Activities of arrested Chinese, foreigners working online gaming not POGO-related

The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) on Thursday said the recently arrested Chinese and other foreign nationals reportedly involved in illegal online gaming are not related to legitimate Philippine Offshore Gaming Operations (POGO).

“The agency emphasizes that any individual, group or entity which conducts online gambling without approval to operate from PAGCOR should not be categorized as POGO,” the gaming regulator said in a statement.

The Philippine government is planning to deport at least 2,000 POGO workers by October as part of crackdown on undocumented foreign workers following the termination of their POGO firms’ licenses. 

The Justice Department estimates that there are around 40,000 POGO workers still in the country even if the license to operate of 175 POGO companies have been terminated.

“In the light of the arrest of Chinese and other foreign nationals reportedly involved in illegal online gaming recently, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. would like to clarify that the activities of said individuals are not in any way related to legitimate POGOs,” the PAGCOR said.

PAGCOR records show that there are 120,976 POGO workers in the country as of 2020.

Of the 120,976 foreign POGO workers on record, 69,613 are Chinese, 3,000 are Vietnamese, 2,400 are Indonesians, 1,700 are Taiwanese, 1,200 are Malaysians, with the remaining number from 44 other countries.

For his part, PAGCOR chairman and CEO Alejandro Tengco said POGO operations “are strictly being monitored by the agency, and any gaming entity that fails to pass the application process for an offshore gaming license and to fulfill the documentary and financial requirements, among others, cannot be labeled as legal offshore gaming operators or POGO.”

Tengco added that PAGCOR is in close coordination with various agencies such as the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), Department of Justice (DOJ), Philippine National Police (PNP) and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to effectively determine any illegal offshore gaming operations in the country and thwart kidnapping and human trafficking incidents.

The PAGCOR said it currently has 34 approved POGO operators, 127 accredited service providers, and five special class business process outsourcing that underwent a probity check. 

Personnel of Customer Relations Service Providers, Gaming Software Platform Providers and Live Studio and Streaming Providers were required to secure offshore gaming employment licenses and are now ordered to obtain police clearances, the regulator said.  —Ted Cordero/KBK, GMA News