President announces POGO ban in State of the Nation Address

President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. announced a ban on Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) during his third State of the Nation Address on July 22, 2024, and ordered the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) to wind down and cease POGO operations by the end of the year¹. In its 2024 annual report, PAGCOR said it "facilitated a structured transition to comply with the new policy" and that POGOs "ceased operations in December 2024 on orders of the President"².

The ban covers the legal operators as well as the illegal ones. PAGCOR chair Alejandro Tengco told a House joint committee hearing that the ban would cover the 43 remaining licensed POGOs, which the regulator had rebranded as internet gaming licensees (IGLs)³. PAGCOR said there were 38 duly licensed IGLs and seven with provisional licenses³. Tengco said the number had been cut from 298 because many did not qualify under stricter rules³. By August 2025 he said "100 percent" of the 48 POGOs that had held licenses had been canceled⁴.

The Department of Finance, which had recommended the prohibition, estimated the net cost of POGO operations at PHP99.52 billion annually, with total economic benefits of PHP166.49 billion per year against total economic costs of PHP265.74 billion annually¹. The National Economic and Development Authority said POGOs contributed less than one-half of one percent of GDP as of 2022, while losses tied to their presence were "in the order of one percent"¹. Reuters reported the government stood to lose around 23 billion pesos ($400 million) a year from license fees and taxes, and that the industry directly and indirectly employed around 63,000 Filipino and foreign workers⁵.

Marcos said the operators had moved into crimes beyond gaming, citing "financial scamming, money laundering, prostitution, human trafficking, kidnapping, brutal torture, even murder"⁶. China's embassy in Manila had appealed to the Philippines to ban POGOs "to root out this social ill," and said it had helped shut five offshore gambling centers and repatriated nearly 1,000 Chinese citizens over the past year⁶. Gambling is banned in China with the exception of Macao⁶.

What it means for players

The ban applies to operators serving customers outside the Philippines, mainly in China, not to domestic casinos or online games licensed by PAGCOR³. POGOs were required to bar people in the Philippines, Filipino citizens wherever they were, and patrons in places where offshore gambling is illegal from using their services³. PAGCOR said it had stopped granting new licenses for online gaming sites and apps under a board resolution dated March 1, 2024, and that more than 70 licensed online gaming sites and apps remained, including BingoPlus, ArenaPlus and OKBet⁴. Tengco said only law enforcement agencies have the power to find and shut down illegal POGOs⁴. For the rules that apply to players in the Philippines, see Can I Gamble in the Philippines? and The Philippines' Ban on Offshore Gaming (POGOs); for the wider regional picture, see Online Gambling in Asia: The Law for Players in 12 Jurisdictions.

What happens next

Finance Secretary Ralph Recto said the Department of Finance would work with the Department of Labor and Employment on reskilling and upskilling for displaced workers, and the Department of Social Welfare and Development said it could provide cash aid and livelihood grants¹. Interior Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr. said local government units were told to scrutinize business permits, and that he would travel to the Visayas to verify information on seven entities monitored by PAGCOR as allegedly linked to POGOs¹. House Speaker Martin Romualdez asked Congress to draft legislation to back the directive, which he said should be "ironclad"³. Senate President Francis Escudero said no new law, executive order or administrative order was needed, because a PAGCOR license was what made the operators legal³.