The head of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor) told the Senate on Monday, July 29, that all 44 Internet Gaming Licensees (IGLs) are covered by the presidential ban on Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs)1. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. announced the total ban in his State of the Nation Address on July 221.
Pagcor chief Alejandro Tengco said the order covered the licensees his agency had already re-issued, and that Pagcor would wind down their operations1.
"The ban is for all, very clear. Maliwanag po ang utos ng Pangulo, 'I am ordering Pagcor to wind down.' Ang iwa-wind down ko po ay ang existing, and that refers to the 44 IGLs"
The announcement was followed by confusion over whether the ban reached IGLs, because POGOs ceased to exist as a category in 2023 when Pagcor renamed them IGLs1. Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra said the ban covers IGLs, describing the policy statement as clear and without qualification1. Tengco said close to 300 POGO licenses were issued under former president Rodrigo Duterte, and that the number was cut to 44 when the rename took effect1.
Tengco said around 32,000 IGL workers and around 8,000 Business Process Outsourcing workers, a total of 40,000, will be displaced by the ban1. He said inter-agency meetings would begin that week, starting with the Department of Labor and Employment, and that Justice Secretary Boying Remulla had called a meeting with Pagcor, the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission, the Bureau of Immigration and the Department of Justice to formulate guidelines for winding up operations1. Pagcor will give a monthly report on the wind-down1.
| Item | Figure |
|---|---|
| IGLs covered by the ban | 441 |
| POGO licenses issued under Duterte | close to 3001 |
| IGL workers | around 32,0001 |
| BPO workers | around 8,0001 |
| Total workers displaced | 40,0001 |
Tengco said offshore gaming operations inside the Cagayan Economic Zone Authority (CEZA) are the only complication, because CEZA has its own charter and can issue its own licenses1. Senator Risa Hontiveros said Pagcor should update the Senate on how that charter figures into the ban1. Tengco said operators without licenses, the illegal POGOs, "are not under our jurisdiction"1.
What it means for players
The ban as described covers the 44 licensed offshore operators that serve customers abroad, not domestic gambling. Players in the Philippines using online casinos licensed in the country are not the target of the wind-down Tengco described, and the Senate inquiry did not address local-facing operations. The practical effect for anyone dealing with an offshore operator is that the licensed ones are being shut down, and Tengco said unlicensed operators fall outside Pagcor's jurisdiction, so checking whether a site holds a Pagcor license is the only way to know which category a brand sits in. The wider Philippines ban on offshore gaming is the framework behind the wind-down, and Pagcor remains the licensing body for the domestic market. For general context on what is legal in the country, see gambling in the Philippines.
What happens next
Marcos ordered all POGOs wound down by the end of the year1.
Pagcor will report monthly on the wind-down, and inter-agency meetings on displaced workers and on guidelines for closing operations were due to start in the week of July 291. How CEZA's charter interacts with the ban had not been resolved as of the hearing1.
