The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) is taking steps to pass Shut down Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) centers to clean up the country’s online gambling industry. PAGCOR Chairman and CEO Alejandro Tengco made the announcement on July 11 during a Senate inquiry.
Tengco pointed out that while it is impossible to completely eliminate illegal activities, PAGCOR Designed to make illegal activities more challenging by banning centers. There are also plans to tighten supervision of the 43 companies that hold offshore gaming licenses, now known as Internet Gaming License Holders (IGLs). This includes assigning “24/7 teams” to monitor the country’s 43 IGLs, a significant reduction from the 298 licensed POGOs under the Rodrigo Duterte administration.
"We are developing certain guidelines. We have banned center,” the Inquirer quoted Tengco as saying.
The person in charge of the Philippine Entertainment and Gaming Corporation added: "Currently, there are still There is no closure order, so early in the process, we are not going to allow any hubs to exist or be approved for closure because we want to be site specific and building specific.”
After Senator Sherwin Gatchalian seeks assurances that POGO crimes will never happen again Following the event, PAGCOR is implementing this new policy.
The idea of POGO Center was proposed in 2019 and aims to Increase supervision and reduce interactions between Chinese workers and local Filipinos. However, reports of POGO-related crimes have led to government raids on these centers as part of a government crackdown on them. Last month, a Porac-based POGO run by Chinese nationals affiliated with Lucky South 99 Corp. was raided for alleged use in human trafficking and torture, among other crimes.
Tengco believes this proactive approach will be the future of crime activity deterrence.
