President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. announced a ban on Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs) during his third State of the Nation Address on July 22, 2024, and instructed the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) to close them down by the end of the year1.
"Effective today, all POGOs are banned," Marcos said, a declaration that drew cheers from members of Congress, who rose to their feet1. He gave the regulator a deadline for the wind-down.
"I hereby instruct PAGCOR (Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation) to wind down and cease the operation of POGOs by the end of the year,"
Marcos described the industry as a grave abuse of Philippine law and said it had moved into areas far from gaming. "Disguising as legitimate entities, their activities have ventured into illicit areas, furthest from gaming, such as financial scamming, money laundering, prostitution, human trafficking, kidnapping, brutal torture, and murder," he said1.
The Department of Finance and the National Economic and Development Authority both backed the ban, according to the report. The DOF said allowing POGOs to proliferate was costing the Philippines around P99.5 billion a year1. Marcos also ordered the Department of Labor and Employment to help look for new jobs for Filipinos affected by the ban1.
Pressure on Marcos had been building for months, the report said, after a Senate investigation exposed issues including fake birth certificates bought by foreign nationals and suspended Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo being suspected as a Chinese spy. Senators Sherwin Gatchalian, Risa Hontiveros and Aquilino Pimentel III had all urged Marcos to ban POGOs1.
What it means for players
The ban covers POGOs, the offshore operators that served customers abroad from bases in the Philippines. It does not, on the reporting available, extend to the domestic gaming that PAGCOR regulates, such as casinos and other land-based venues, and no change to those has been reported1. The practical effect falls on anyone who used a POGO-branded site or app: those operations were ordered to stop by the end of 2024, so accounts, deposits and withdrawals tied to them face closure. How individual operators handled outstanding balances has not been reported. For background on the sector and how licensing works, see The Philippines' Ban on Offshore Gaming (POGOs) and Gambling Regulators and Licenses in Asia: Who Licenses What and How to Check. For what remains legal for players in the country, see Can I Gamble in the Philippines?.
What happens next
PAGCOR was instructed to wind down and cease POGO operations by the end of 20241. The Department of Labor and Employment was ordered to help displaced Filipino workers find new jobs1.
No further timetable, enforcement steps or penalties for operators that continue past the deadline have been reported1.
Sources1 sources
- Marcos declares POGO ban in SONA | Philstar.com, philstar.com
