Sen. Risa Hontiveros on Wednesday called for the dismantling of underground Philippine offshore gaming operator (POGO) networks, following recent raids in Cubao, Quezon City, and Zamboanga Sibugay1. In a statement, she said the continued discovery of POGO hubs nearly two years after the prohibition showed the need for tougher enforcement, including holding accountable those who finance the operations and provide them with premises1.
Hontiveros said the operations could pose national security risks despite a nationwide ban1. She cited findings from years of Senate investigations that POGO hubs had been linked to human trafficking, prostitution, money laundering, financial scams and other criminal activities1.
"We have already passed the Anti-POGO Act, institutionalizing the ban on these operations once and for all. Yet they continue to defy it, right under our noses."
She called on authorities to identify and hold accountable those who financed the illegal operations, leased properties to their operators, and allowed them to continue1.
"Now that they continue to operate, the government must identify and hold accountable those who funded these operations, leased these properties, and allowed them to exist."
The report did not give the dates of the Cubao and Zamboanga Sibugay raids, the number of people arrested or rescued, or the value of any assets involved. It also did not name any individual or company as a financier or landlord, and no agency response to Hontiveros's statement has been reported1.
What it means for players
The Philippines has banned offshore gaming operations, and the POGO ban guide sets out what that prohibition covers. Hontiveros's statement concerns illegal hubs that continue to operate outside that ban, not licensed land-based or online gambling open to the public1.
For anyone in the Philippines, the practical point is that sites and apps presented as POGO-linked operations are unlicensed and outside the law. The activities Hontiveros listed, including financial scams and money laundering, are the same categories that appear in gambling scams and safety reporting across Asia, where fake platforms and scam compounds are a recurring problem. Players who use regulated domestic operators are unaffected by this statement; those approached by recruiters or agents offering offshore work or betting accounts are dealing with the sector under investigation1.
The statement does not change the rules for legal gambling in the country. The Philippines gambling guide covers which operators are permitted and how licensing works.
What happens next
Hontiveros has asked the government to identify and hold accountable the financiers, landlords and enablers of the raided operations1. No deadline, hearing date, filing or specific agency action has been reported1.
