The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. will wind down the 43 remaining legal Philippine offshore gaming operators, now called internet gaming licensees, under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s directive to ban all Pogos, Pagcor Chair Alejandro Tengco told a House joint committee hearing on Tuesday1.
Tengco told the House committees on public order and safety and games and amusement that the order covered the licensed operators inside his jurisdiction, and that illegal Pogos fall outside it1.
"I am instructing Pagcor to wind down the operations of all Pogos"
The clarification followed questions from Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers and ACT Teachers Rep. France Castro about the difference between Pogos and IGLs, with both raising concerns that ambiguous wording could leave loopholes in enforcing the ban1. Tengco said the IGL term came into force after he took office last year, when Pagcor imposed stricter regulations and rebranded the operators to remove what the report described as the stigma attached to the China-facing businesses1. Under questioning from Castro, he conceded that Pogos and IGLs were the same and were the ones to be banned1.
Pagcor said that as of July 16 there were 38 duly licensed IGLs and seven holding provisional licenses1. Tengco said the number had fallen from 298 because many operators did not qualify under the new guidelines, and that the raided Pogo Lucky South 99 in Porac, Pampanga, previously held a valid license but failed them1.
| Item | Figure |
|---|---|
| Legal operators to be wound down | 43 |
| Duly licensed IGLs as of July 16 | 38 |
| IGLs with provisional licenses as of July 16 | 7 |
| Operators before the stricter guidelines | 298 |
Senate President Francis Escudero said no law, executive order or administrative order was needed to carry out the directive, because no such instrument legalized Pogos in the first place and a Pagcor license was what made them legal1. He said banning them would require only that Pagcor revoke the license1. Speaker Martin Romualdez told Congress to draft legislation to give the directive teeth, saying the measure should be "ironclad" so it would not only stop Pogo operations by the end of the year but also prevent future administrations from reviving them1. Interior Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr. said he had spoken to Tengco and agreed to hold an interagency meeting, and the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission said the five-month period was enough time to build a database of foreign workers in the industry ahead of their deportation1.
What it means for players
Pogos were licensed to serve customers outside the Philippines, specifically in China, and were required to block people in the Philippines, Filipino citizens wherever they were, and patrons in countries and territories where offshore gambling is illegal1. The wind-down applies to those offshore-facing licensees, not to the domestic gambling market. The report does not state what happens to bets or accounts held with the affected operators, and no timetable for individual closures has been reported beyond the five-month deadline1. The status of the operators' offshore customer bases after the licenses are revoked has not been reported.
What happens next
Marcos gave all Pogos five months to leave1. Romualdez asked the House committees on public order and safety and games and amusement to prioritize a substitute bill harmonizing pending measures1. The House investigation into criminal activity linked to Pogos and the Senate investigation into the industry will both continue1. Escudero said a total gambling ban would have to cover all forms, including casinos, if the government believed gambling did no good for society1.
Sources1 sources
- Pagcor: Pogo ban covers legal gaming hubs or IGLs, newsinfo.inquirer.net
