Philippines gaming regulator PAGCOR has cancelled the provisional accreditation of an offshore gaming hub at Sun Valley Clark, just days after revoking the POGO license of the main service provider residing there, CGC Technologies’, for illegal activities.
Sun Valley Clark is located in the Clark Freeport Zone and is the same wider complex that houses D’Heights Resort & Casino.
In a statement, PAGCOR Chairman and CEO Alejandro Tengco said the Sun Valley Clark hub is “no longer suitable to maintain its provisional accreditation, nor be issued a full accreditation as an offshore gaming hub due to its failure to ensure a lawful and orderly conduct of offshore gaming by its occupants in its registered sites.”
As reported by Inside Asian Gaming, PAGCOR previously cancelled the accreditation of CGC Technologies after an inter-agency search and rescue operation was conducted on the Sun Valley premises in early May for alleged criminal activities such as cryptocurrency investment scams, serious illegal detention and human trafficking activities. The search found that only two of the six buildings occupied by CGC were accredited by PAGCOR.
Oriental Game, the licensed POGO under which CGC was operating, was also fined for “failure to ensure the legitimate conduct of CGC’s business.”
A POGO hub is a complex housing the operations, logistical, administrative and support services of PAGCOR-licensed offshore gaming operators and service providers. They also typically provide residential spaces, food establishments, grocery stores or supermarkets, health and wellness facilities and recreational facilities for their workers.
However, Tengco said PAGCOR would not tolerate any hubs that are involved in illegal activities.
“This serves as a warning to all our offshore gaming licensees and accredited service providers that PAGCOR is serious in its mission to uphold responsible and regulated gaming in the country,” he said.
“While we see the potential of offshore gaming in terms of our revenue-generation efforts, we do not condone their involvement in any criminal activity that violates the rights – not only of Filipinos but of other nationalities as well.
“PAGCOR would like to remind foreign nationals who are being offered attractive employment opportunities in the Philippines to check the credibility of the companies that they are applying in. By going the extra mile, they can protect themselves from possible scams and human trafficking activities.”
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