Finance Secretary Ralph Recto said the country's economic managers transmitted a letter to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. urging him to impose a total ban on Philippine offshore gaming operators, or POGOs1. Recto disclosed the letter in a chance interview, saying the economic team has transmitted a letter to Marcos, urging him to go for a total ban1.
The recommendation rests on the argument that the revenue is not worth the damage. National Economic and Development Authority Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said the benefits in terms of revenues generated and the impact on the economy are not worth the cost, adding that what the government wants to encourage are legitimate, quality investments1. Recto said he is not a fan of gambling or of POGOs, and that while he would accept operators that pay taxes and avoid wrongdoing, many issues already surround the industry1. Former finance secretary Benjamin Diokno said China has discontinued POGOs, as has Cambodia, and that the industry carries reputational risk1.
"the economic team has transmitted a letter to Marcos, urging him to go for a total ban"
The revenue picture is mixed. POGO contributions to the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation, or Pagcor, rose from over P660 million in 2016 to a peak of P6 billion in 2018, an 809% increase in three years, then fell to a low of P2.2 billion in 20221. Tax collections from the sector dropped to P1.7 billion in 2022 from a high of P8 billion in 2019, a 78.8% decline from the peak1. In 2023, Pagcor income from POGOs rose 43.2% to P3.15 billion year on year, and Pagcor dividend remittances reached P4.6 billion, second only to the Philippine Ports Authority among remitting agencies1.
| Measure | Figure |
|---|---|
| POGO contribution to Pagcor income, 2016 | over P660 million1 |
| Peak, 2018 | P6 billion1 |
| Low, 2022 | P2.2 billion1 |
| Tax collections peak, 2019 | P8 billion1 |
| Tax collections low, 2022 | P1.7 billion1 |
| Pagcor income from POGOs, 2023 | P3.15 billion, up 43.2%1 |
Pagcor reported 45 registered POGOs, seven of them operating on provisional licenses, and said it has canceled some 69 POGO licenses and 272 service provider licenses1. It has accredited only one POGO hub, owned by First Orient International Ventures Corp. in Cavite1. Pagcor chief Alejandro Tengco said new guidelines are coming that will ban POGOs from establishing hubs, saying criminal activities happen in those enclosed, walled areas that are hard to monitor1. Pagcor told a November 2022 Senate hearing it intends to grow POGO revenues to P10 billion by 2027, above the P8 billion earned in 2019, and aims for a 100% market share of Southeast Asia's online gambling industry; its roadmap was four pages long and no updated plan has been made public1.
The Chinese embassy said in a statement last June that POGO is detrimental to both Philippine and Chinese interests and images as well as China-Philippines relations1. Since 2018, nearly 3,000 Chinese citizens implicated in cases have been repatriated through joint efforts, and in the past year China assisted in shutting down five POGO hubs and repatriated nearly 1,000 Chinese citizens1.
What it means for players
POGOs are offshore operations that serve customers abroad, mostly in China, and are not open to betting by people in the Philippines. The debate described here concerns the licensing and tax regime for those operators, not the legality of domestic gambling, which runs through Pagcor-licensed casinos, e-games and other channels. See the site's guide to the Philippines' ban on offshore gaming (POGOs) and Can I Gamble in the Philippines? for how the two are separated. For players elsewhere in the region, the status of online betting varies by jurisdiction, as set out in Online Gambling in Asia: The Law for Players in 12 Jurisdictions and Can I Gamble in China?.
What happens next
No date has been reported for a decision by Marcos on the economic team's letter1. Pagcor said it is set to release new guidelines banning POGOs from establishing hubs, but no release date was given1. Pagcor has not made public any updated roadmap for the industry since the November 2022 Senate hearing1.
