A joint operation on Thursday, October 3, 2024, busted a love scam hub operating on the first floor of a two-storey building in Pasay City, just beside the World Trade Center, despite the government's ban on Philippine offshore gaming operators1.
The Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) said 254 people were caught in the raid: 190 Chinese, 2 Taiwanese and 62 Filipinos, with 68 of the total being female1. An earlier count put the figure at 261, including 188 foreigners and 73 Filipinos1.
Permits hanging at the entrance included an Internet Gaming License (IGL) from the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor) issued in September 2023 and valid until September 20251. IGL was the new name for POGO, and the two are essentially the same1. Pagcor personnel who arrived at the site said that based on their records the hub had been declared non-operational, and could not offer more details1. PAOCC chief Undersecretary Gilbert Cruz said the license and local permits still needed verification1.
Rappler reported that Facebook appeared to be one of the platforms used to lure and scam victims, along with secure messaging apps Telegram and Signal, and that pre-registered international and local sim cards were scattered in the offices1. PAOCC spokesperson Winston Casio said that, based on knowledge of how scam hubs operate, the 32 teams in the building could earn around P350 million a week1. Authorities also found 11 vehicles1.
The raid's legal basis was a mission order from the Bureau of Immigration, whose operatives interviewed the foreigners to determine whether they had proper documents to work in the Philippines1. Cruz said an initial sweep found no traces of torture and prostitution, unlike previous hubs raided, and that this was a much smaller operation1.
"There is an all out ban on Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs)"
The ban was announced by Marcos in his third State of the Nation Address, and Pagcor was tasked to wind down and cease POGO operations by the end of 20242. Arrests have continued since. In February 2025, National Bureau of Investigation Director Jaime Santiago said the bureau nabbed 20 foreigners for alleged violation of section 4(b)(1) (social engineering schemes) of Republic Act No. 12010, the anti-financial account scamming act (AFASA), in relation to the cybercrime prevention act2. That operation followed a complaint from the wife of a Chinese victim who said her husband was held against his will at a company trading as "LWE" in Aseana 3, West Tower, Parañaque City; the NBI said it found the POGO hub fully operational and arrested the alleged captor, Liu Zhi Tao, also known as "Ren Jia"2.
PAOCC director Winnie Quidato told a Senate hearing in November 2024 that some large POGO companies were splintering into smaller groups, some branding themselves as business process outsourcing companies2.
"So they employ different styles but most of them are becoming guerrilla groups working in 10s, 20s, whereas before they were operating in thousands. So just like what we found in Parañaque when we raided the Parañaque group, we saw a subdivision where POGOs occupied 45 houses within the subdivision."
What it means for players
The Philippines' ban on offshore gaming operators covers IGL licensees as well as POGOs, and the Pasay raid shows licensed-looking premises can still be running scam operations after the ban1. The activity described in the raid was not betting: workers were allegedly running love and investment scams, including cryptocurrency schemes, aimed at foreign nationals through Facebook, Telegram and Signal1. For anyone in the Philippines, that means a physical site displaying a Pagcor permit is not by itself evidence that the business is legitimate or still authorized1.
The arrests also show enforcement continuing into 2025 under AFASA, which gives the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas power to investigate bank accounts, e-wallets and other financial accounts suspected of involvement in crimes, free from bank secrecy and data privacy rules2. People caught working in these operations have faced inquest proceedings and, in the Parañaque case, illegal detention charges for an alleged captor2. General guidance on gambling scams in the Philippines and on how to report scams is available separately.
What happens next
The Bureau of Immigration has called on POGO workers, including legitimate ones, to volunteer downgrading their working visas to tourist visas, and officials said that ideally there should no longer be IGL or POGO licensees by the end of 20241. The 20 foreigners arrested in Parañaque in February 2025 had already undergone inquest proceedings before the Parañaque City prosecutor's office2. No further court dates or outcomes for either case have been reported.
