Makabayan bloc files bill to ban and criminalize POGOs

ACT Teachers party-list Representative France Castro led the filing of House Bill No. 10525, the proposed Anti-POGO Act of 2024, which seeks to revoke all licenses granted to POGOs and local gaming agents engaged in offshore gaming operations while totally banning future POGO operations². The bill classifies POGO operations as a predicate crime for money laundering and human trafficking and imposes penalties of up to 10 years imprisonment and fines of P10 million². It also seeks to categorize employment of POGOs as a human trafficking offense⁴.

If enacted, prohibited acts would include facilitation of any offshore gaming through any means or device within Philippine territory, acceptance of any form of betting for offshore gaming operations, acting as a service provider for offshore gaming, creation of a POGO hub, establishment of a gaming laboratory, possession of gaming paraphernalia, and aiding, protecting or abetting any prohibited act³.

Castro described POGOs as a "social menace" and a source of "unimaginable corruption," citing police raids uncovering rape, murder, illegal recruitment, human trafficking, prostitution, illegal detention, inhumane labor practices, money laundering and immigration bribery².

The filing followed Senate moves in the same direction. Senator Sherwin Gatchalian filed Senate Bill 2689, which aims to repeal the taxability of offshore gaming established under Republic Act 11590². Senators renewed calls to ban all POGOs after a raid on a POGO compound in Porac, Pampanga yielded an alleged uniform of the Chinese military².

The Makabayan bill was not the first measure targeting POGOs. Manila 6th District Representative Bienvenido "Benny" Abante Jr. filed a bill in September 2022 seeking to ban and declare POGOs illegal, and Cagayan de Oro 2nd District Representative Rufus Rodriguez filed a resolution in August 2023 urging the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor) to ban POGOs⁴. The House committee on games and amusements had already approved two proposed measures seeking to ban POGOs, HB No. 5082 by Abante and House Resolution No. 1197 by Rodriguez³. It was unclear how the Makabayan bill would be discussed given that earlier approval³.

What it means for players

The bill targets POGO operations, the offshore-facing licensed operators that serve customers abroad, rather than domestic land-based casinos or online sportsbooks licensed for the Philippine market. Its practical reach for people who gamble in the Philippines is indirect: it would revoke POGO licenses, bar new offshore gaming operations and make facilitation of offshore gaming, accepting bets for it, or working in a POGO hub a criminal offense carrying prison time and fines². The bill also seeks to stop work permits for POGO workers and to treat POGO employment as a human trafficking offense⁴. None of the sources state how the bill would affect individual bettors or existing player accounts, and that has not been reported. The measure remained pending, and the House committee on games and amusements had already approved separate POGO ban measures³. 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 sources do not give a scheduled vote, committee hearing date or timeline for HB No. 10525. The House committee on games and amusements had approved two other POGO ban measures before the Makabayan filing, and it was unclear how the new bill would be discussed³. No further legislative steps on this bill have been reported.