The Chinese embassy in Manila said it had assisted Philippine authorities in shutting down five offshore gambling centers and repatriated nearly 1,000 Chinese citizens over the past year, and that it had appealed to the Philippines to ban Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators1. The embassy's position was reported in June 2024, before President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. announced a total shutdown of the industry in his state of the nation address on July 22, 20241.
The embassy said it made the appeal "to root out this social ill"1. It has not commented publicly on the ban announcement itself; CNN said it had contacted the embassy for comment1.
Marcos announced the ban with the words "Effective today, all POGOs are banned," drawing a standing ovation from lawmakers1. He said the operators had moved into crimes far removed from gaming: "Disguising as legitimate entities, their operations have ventured into illicit areas furthest from gaming, such as financial scamming, money laundering, prostitution, human trafficking, kidnapping, brutal torture, even murder. The grave abuse and disrespect to our system of laws must stop"1.
The industry's scale and the timeline set for its closure:
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Licensed offshore gaming operators | More than 401 |
| Illicit gambling hubs | Dozens more1 |
| Workers | Tens of thousands of Chinese and foreign nationals1 |
| Sector established | 2016, under President Rodrigo Duterte1 |
| Closure deadline ordered by Marcos | End of the year1 |
The POGO sector emerged in the Philippines in 2016 under Marcos' predecessor Rodrigo Duterte, and the country became a major hub for online gaming catering to tens of thousands of players based in China1. Gambling is banned in China, with the exception of Macao1. In March 2024, China's embassy in Singapore warned its citizens there to avoid all forms of betting, saying "Even if overseas casinos are legally opened, cross-border gambling by Chinese citizens is suspected of violating the laws of our country"1.
Philippine ambassador to China Jaime FlorCruz told CNN that most perpetrators in POGOs are from China but that many victims are also Chinese, and that the ban is good for Philippine-China relations and gives the two sides a chance to cooperate on intelligence exchange and the identification and repatriation of Chinese citizens implicated in crimes1. In March 2024, more than 800 Filipinos, Chinese and other nationals were rescued in a police raid of an online romance scam center posing as a casino about 100 kilometers north of the capital, the Philippine News Agency reported1.
What it means for players
The ban targets operators that mostly cater to Chinese gamblers, not land-based casinos open to the general public in the Philippines1. Players outside the Philippines who used POGO platforms to wager on games run in the country face the closure of those operators by the end of the year1. Chinese citizens are affected on a separate track: Beijing treats cross-border gambling by its citizens as suspected violation of Chinese law even where the overseas casino is legally opened1. The embassy's repatriation of nearly 1,000 Chinese citizens over the past year shows that people working in or around these operations, not only players, have been removed from the country1. The Philippine government has not reported what happens to player accounts or deposits held by banned operators; that has not been reported1.
What happens next
Marcos ordered the gaming regulator to close the more than 40 licensed operators and the dozens of illicit hubs by the end of the year1. The embassy said it would continue cooperating with Philippine authorities on intelligence exchange and repatriation1. No further detail on the mechanics of the shutdown has been reported1.
For background on the industry and the ban, see The Philippines' Ban on Offshore Gaming (POGOs) and Can I Gamble in the Philippines?. For the rules Chinese citizens face, see Can I Gamble in China? and Offshore Gambling Sites That Accept Players From China. For related risks, see Gambling Scams in the Philippines and Gambling Scams and Safety in Asia.
