Pasig City ban on Pogos and online gambling takes effect

A ban on Philippine offshore gaming operators (Pogos) and other forms of online gambling took effect in Pasig City in December 2022, after Mayor Vico Sotto signed Ordinance No. 55, series of 2022¹. The ordinance gave companies running e-games, "e-sabong," e-bingo, online poker and casinos, and computer gaming stations one year to wrap up their operations and leave the city¹.

The Pasig measure was reported alongside a separate move in Valenzuela City, where Mayor Wes Gatchalian said in July 2023 that the city council had passed three ordinances prohibiting all forms of gambling in the city, including Pogos¹. Gatchalian also ordered the suspension of new applications for the operation of Small Town Lottery (STL), online cockfighting, online bingo, and online poker, among others¹. Valenzuela City remains without any Pogo establishment but currently has nine STL operators, he said¹. The ordinances there penalize violators with fines ranging from P100,000 up to P500,000, according to Councilor Ricar Enriquez, the majority floor leader¹.

Gatchalian said he signed the ordinances to preempt social impacts arising from the proliferation of illegal gambling, such as human trafficking, money laundering, prostitution, and kidnapping¹. He recalled that during a raid on an unauthorized cockfight, or "tupada," in Barangay Lingunan in May 2021, a teenager was shot dead by the police during the commotion¹.

Nationwide, the Senate moved to ban Pogos in September 2022, following reports on a spate of serious crimes, including killings and abductions¹. That same month, Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said illegal Pogo workers would be summarily deported¹. As of June 2023, there are 33 licensed Pogos listed by the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp.¹. From P7.18 billion in 2020, the first year of the pandemic, taxes collected by the Bureau of Internal Revenue from Pogos and their service providers went down by 46 percent to P3.91 billion in 2021, according to the Department of Finance¹.

What it means for players

For anyone gambling in Pasig, the ordinance covers a wide set of online products, not only Pogos: e-games, e-sabong, e-bingo, online poker and casinos, and computer gaming stations were all given one year to wind down and leave the city¹. In Valenzuela, the prohibition is broader still, covering all forms of gambling in the city, with fines of P100,000 up to P500,000 for violators¹. Valenzuela had no Pogo establishment at the time of the announcement, but it had nine STL operators, and new applications for STL, online cockfighting, online bingo and online poker were suspended¹. The status of existing licensed operators in Pasig after the one-year window, and how the ordinances are being enforced against individual players, have not been reported.

What happens next

The Senate moved to ban Pogos nationwide in September 2022¹. Whether that national ban has been enacted, and what it would mean for the 33 licensed Pogos listed by the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. as of June 2023, has not been reported¹. The Justice Secretary's statement that illegal Pogo workers would be summarily deported dates from September 2022¹.

For background on the national picture, see The Philippines' Ban on Offshore Gaming (POGOs) and Crackdowns on Offshore Online Gambling Hubs in Asia. For how local rules fit the wider legal map, see Gambling Laws in Asia: What Is Legal in 12 Jurisdictions and Is Online Gambling Legal in Asia? The 12 Jurisdictions Compared. For the country overall, see Can I Gamble in the Philippines?.