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Philippines punish prohibited offshore gambling firms

Philippine authorities have introduced a crackdown on illegal overseas gambling operators, numerous run by Chinese firms, as calls to prohibit these activities mount due to their declared links to criminal syndicates.

Around 250 to 300 overseas gambling firms are operating in the Philippines without a licence, the chief of the nation's. gaming regulator stated on Thursday, around 6 times more than. the 46 genuine gaming operators in the nation.

Together with the authorities, we look for these unlawful. operators, conduct raids, and shut them down, Alejandro Tengco,. chairman of state regulator Philippine Amusement and Video Gaming Corp. ( PAGCOR), informed in a phone interview.

The online video gaming industry emerged in the Philippines in. 2016 and grew tremendously as operators capitalised on the. nation's liberal video gaming laws to target customers in China,. where betting is prohibited.

At their peak, Philippine overseas gaming operators, or. POGOs, totalled 300 and used more than 300,000 Chinese. employees. However the pandemic and tighter tax guidelines have actually required numerous. to transfer or go underground, Tengco said.

The crackdown was triggered by reports of POGO-related. criminal offenses such as human trafficking, abuse, kidnapping, and. deceitful activities like credit card, crypto investment, and. love rip-offs - when wrongdoers adopt phony online identities to. encourage victims to provide money.

In March, law enforcers robbed a POGO facility in. Pampanga province that caused the rescue of more than 800. workers, including Filipino and Chinese nationals, local media. reported.

Security officials have actually also revealed concern over prohibited. POGOs, with the defence minister saying criminal syndicates. posing as POGOs were a national security issue, while the. national security council said these illegal activities need to not. be tolerated.

The issue is that we should stop these syndicated. criminal activities running out of our base, which compromise our. monetary standing, our country rankings, (and) corrupt our. society, Defence Secretary Gilberto Teodoro stated in a declaration. on Wednesday.

PAGCOR's Tengco said the video gaming regulator would comply with. the government's decision on POGOs, which may include. prohibiting the market completely.

The federal government is anticipated to create 24.5 billion pesos. ($ 417 million) this year in POGO charges and taxes from 46 certified. POGOs, half of which are Chinese companies, Tengco stated.

(source: Reuters)