President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Monday ordered the Philippine Gaming and Amusements Corp. to stop all Philippine Offshore Gaming Operations amid their illicit activities, and instructed other agencies to find jobs for those who would be displaced by the end of POGO ventures in the country.
“Disguising as legitimate entities, their operations venture into illicit areas furthest from gaming such as financial scamming, money laundering, prostitution, human trafficking, kidnapping, brutal torture, even murder. The grave abuse and disrespect to our system of laws must stop….Effective today, all POGOs are banned,” President Marcos said as he closed his third State of the Nation Address.
“I hereby instruct PAGCOR to wind down and cease the operations of POGOs by the end of the year,” he added.
President Marcos instructed the Department of Labor and Employment to coordinate with the country’s economic managers to help find jobs for those who will be left unemployed by the government decision to ban POGOs.
Latest data show that PAGCOR has already cancelled 69 POGO licenses while 45 are licensed, including those with provisional permits. A total 14 business process outsourcing companies, meantime, have been accredited by PAGCOR to provide services to POGOs while 19 companies provide content and support services.
At a Senate hearing last week, PAGCOR chairman Alejandro Tengco said the government stands to lose P40 billion in revenue if a total ban of POGOs is implemented.
At the end of 2023, around 25,000 Filipinos are reported employed by the POGO sector.
