Philippines gaming regulator PAGCOR has “decided to put all existing [POGO] licensees and service providers under a probationary stance” and will require them to reapply for licenses under a new regulatory framework to be announced soon.
The stringent stance was revealed by PAGCOR Chairman and CEO Alejandro Tengco at G2E Asia on Thursday, where he promised to “straighten out” the Philippines’ offshore gaming industry but showed no signs of shutting it down amid opposition from some sections of the political sphere.
POGOs have made plenty of headlines in recent weeks, with the regulator cancelling the accreditation of a POGO hub in Clark for alleged criminal activities such as cryptocurrency investment scams, serious illegal detention and human trafficking activities. It also issued a cease and desist order to another in Las Piñas City amid similar allegations, prompting at least one local government unit to place a ban on the operations of POGOs within its boundaries.
Tengco said Thursday that PAGCOR was determined to clean up the online gaming sector.
“Seeing that the current framework has become a means to cuddle various illegal activities, we have decided to put all existing licensees and service providers under a probationary stance,” he said. “They will all have to reapply under a new framework and structure that we will be releasing soon.
“We shall undertake the painstaking process to weed out any unscrupulous companies and individuals using the PAGCOR license for illegal activities, tainting the name of the whole industry and, more importantly, the Philippines as a whole.
“With intensified coordination with relevant government agencies, we are confident that we will be able to straighten out and revive the industry once again.”
Despite such POGO woes, Tengco noted that online gaming was on the rise in the Philippines with GGR from the sector reaching Php11 billion (US$202 million) in 2022 and on track to hit Php24 billion (US$441 million) in 2023.
“If we are going to attain all of the projections, we will be able to increase by three-fold [in 2023] the GGR of the online gaming segment compared to 2020,” he said.
