Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, who heads the Senate committee on ways and means, urged the Marcos administration in March 2023 to ban Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs) to help maintain peace and order, according to a Rappler fact check published on September 13, 20241. In his chairman's report, Gatchalian cited the risks of POGOs' continued operations in the Philippines1.
POGOs are online gambling companies based in the Philippines that offer services to customers abroad, particularly Chinese clients. These firms are licensed and regulated by the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) to operate legally1. While deemed beneficial to the country's economy, POGOs are linked to various crimes, including human trafficking, prostitution, money laundering, and tax evasion1.
The recommendation moved forward in September 2023, when the Senate panel officially filed it through Committee Report No. 136 to recommend the immediate expulsion of POGOs1. Gatchalian and nine other senators signed the report1. Senator Bong Go was not among the signatories1.
Go's position on the industry has shifted over time. He was one of 17 senators who voted in favor of Republic Act No. 11590, the law taxing POGO operations, which was signed into law by the Duterte administration on September 22, 20211. Only Senator Risa Hontiveros and then-senators Francis "Kiko" Pangilinan and Frank Drilon opposed the measure1. In a post on his personal X account on September 9, Go said:
"Ako po mismo noon pa against po ako sa POGO pag-apektado na po ang peace and order. For the record, ayaw ko talaga ng POGO."
Rappler rated the claim that Go is against POGOs as MISSING CONTEXT1. The fact check also noted that during a House mega panel hearing on August 28, Police Lieutenant Colonel Jovie Espenido named Go as a channel of an alleged P20,000 cash reward per kill given to cops under Duterte's drug war, money allegedly sourced from POGOs and small town lotteries. Go denounced the testimony as malicious and slanderous, asserting he never managed any funds associated with the drug war and with POGOs1.
What it means for players
At the time of Gatchalian's March 2023 call, POGOs remained licensed and regulated by PAGCOR, so the operators serving overseas customers, mostly in China, were still operating legally1. The push was a recommendation from a Senate committee, not a ban in force, so nothing changed immediately for players using those platforms. POGOs serve customers abroad rather than domestic bettors, so the practical effect fell mainly on offshore-facing operations and the workers and service businesses around them, not on land-based casinos or other Philippine gambling that falls under separate rules. For the wider legal picture across the region, see Gambling Laws in Asia: What Is Legal in 12 Jurisdictions and Can I Gamble in the Philippines?.
What happens next
The Senate panel filed Committee Report No. 136 in September 2023 recommending the immediate expulsion of POGOs1. In his third State of the Nation Address on July 22, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. announced a complete ban on POGOs and instructed PAGCOR to cease POGO operations by the end of 20241.
Two days after that announcement, Go issued a press release expressing support for the ban, acknowledging the industry's revenue and job contributions but saying Filipinos' security must be prioritized, and adding that the ban should not be selective1. The background to the ban is set out in The Philippines' Ban on Offshore Gaming (POGOs).
