Foreign workers employed by Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) were given until October 15, 2024 to downgrade their 9G work visas to tourist visas, following President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s July 2024 ban on POGO operations1. The Bureau of Immigration said 21,757 foreign nationals filed for the downgrade, of whom 10,821 had already left the country1. More than 12,000 applied in the month before the deadline1.
The downgrade converts a work visa into a temporary visitor visa, which the Bureau of Immigration said allows foreigners to legally work in the Philippines for a 59-day period1. Rappler reported that workers who waited for their 9G visas to be canceled would be granted 60-day tourist visas, and that all of them would have to leave by December 312.
"From the time the pronouncement was made, the total number of foreign nations who filed for the downgrading of their visas is 21,757. Of these individuals, 10,821 have already left the country."
Marcos banned all POGOs in July 2024 after several businesses were implicated in crimes including human trafficking, serious illegal detention and money scams1. In November he signed Executive Order No. 74, which states that the ban on POGOs and internet gaming licenses covers illegal offshore gaming operations, license applications, license renewals and the cessation of operations1.
Estimates of the foreign workforce affected have varied. The Department of Finance, citing PAGCOR and Department of Labor and Employment data, found 66,547 POGO employees in the country as of 2023, of whom 41,347 were foreign nationals and 25,200 Filipinos1. PAGCOR said in 2023 that 22,184 foreigners, 7,534 of them Chinese, worked in licensed POGOs, while the finance department cited 41,347 foreign workers for the same year2. Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission spokesman Winston Casio said 180,000 to 200,000 Chinese nationals at the peak of POGO operations under former president Rodrigo Duterte had not left the Philippines2. Rappler reported that revenue agencies were citing figures based on the 43 POGOs still operating legally, while law enforcers' estimates included roughly 250 POGOs whose licenses had long been revoked and which were operating underground2.
| Figure | Number | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Visa downgrade applications | 21,757 | Bureau of Immigration1 |
| Applicants who had left the country | 10,821 | Bureau of Immigration1 |
| POGO employees, 2023 | 66,547 | Finance department, via PAGCOR and DOLE1 |
| Foreign nationals among them | 41,347 | Finance department1 |
| Filipino employees | 25,200 | Finance department1 |
| Foreigners in licensed POGOs, 2023 | 22,184 | PAGCOR2 |
What it means for players
The visa deadline applied to foreigners who held 9G work visas through POGO employers, not to players or visitors generally. The Philippines' ban on offshore gaming targets operators licensed to serve customers abroad, and the visa measures described here concern the foreign staff who worked for them. Foreign nationals who remained in the country on a downgraded visitor visa were permitted to stay and work for a limited period, reported as 59 days by the Bureau of Immigration and 60 days by Rappler1. Anyone in the Philippines on a work permit tied to a gaming employer should note that the rules described apply to that permit status; general rules on gambling in the Philippines for residents and visitors are separate. Foreign workers weighing how their permit conditions affect where they may gamble can read the guide to foreign workers and gambling rules, and the wider question of which country's law applies is covered in gambling in Asia for expats and visitors.
What happens next
The revocation of licenses for the remaining POGOs took effect on December 15, 2024, announced by PAGCOR Chairman and CEO Alejandro Tengco at a Palace press briefing on December 113. PAOCC Director Gilbert Cruz said around 20 POGOs were still operating based on PAGCOR data, and that all POGOs and Internet Gaming Licensees were expected to cease operations by January3. Cruz said operators claiming to be licensed business process outsourcing firms would not be allowed, and that authorities would inspect POGOs claiming to have stopped to verify they had3. Rappler reported that a time and motion study by the concerned agencies was based on around 100,000 POGO workers being repatriated by the end of 2024, and that officials were weighing whether commercial flights would suffice if 2,500 to 3,000 people had to be repatriated daily2.
