The Philippine Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) has announced that it is preparing to launch two major operations against the online gambling industry, aimed not only at disrupting its operations but also at arresting those involved.
PAOCC spokesperson Winston Casio stated that the agency is currently awaiting reports from the National Bureau of Investigation and the Philippine National Police Criminal Investigation and Detection Group on the recent raids conducted at online gambling hubs over the past few weeks.
In an interview with state-run PTV-4, Casio mentioned that despite President Marcos Jr.'s decision to ban, online gambling companies continue to operate in the Philippines, and the PAOCC has already formed a task force planning a major crackdown on these companies.
The task force includes members from the PAOCC, Philippine Police, National Bureau of Investigation, Bureau of Immigration, Department of Justice, and Anti-Money Laundering Council.
"Even before President Marcos Jr. issued the directive to ban online gambling companies, we had already formed a special task force. Therefore, we plan to carry out two major operations in the coming weeks," he said.
He added, "These are large-scale operations, so we are taking the necessary measures—we will follow the necessary legal procedures so that we can truly eliminate them, not just disrupt them. This way, we can catch them, bring charges, deport them, and confiscate their assets."
Casio noted that the good news is that online gambling companies that were operating legally before the presidential directive have already started to cease operations.
"Many of them might even leave the Philippines before December 31," he said.
However, he pointed out that illegal online gambling companies remain a problem as they continue to "guerrilla operate."
"The real problem we are facing now is the illegal online gambling companies... This is currently our biggest headache. Therefore, we continue to monitor them so that we can apply for search warrants to carry out enforcement actions," Casio explained.
The PAOCC reported that in June, a month before President Marcos Jr. announced the decision to ban the online gambling industry, it had been closely monitoring 58 online gambling companies operating illegally in the Philippines, whose licenses had been revoked by the government.
Additionally, on August 21, Casio stated that foreigners working in online gambling companies have also begun to voluntarily leave the Philippines.
"According to our communications with foreign embassies, there has been an increase in the number of foreigners working in online gambling companies applying for travel documents," he said.
"As a result, many are voluntarily leaving the Philippines, a situation we discovered through monitoring social media and other human resources," he added.
