Last July, Marcos, in his third State of the Nation Address (SONA), requested all POGOs to cease operations by December 31, 2024.
During a Senate Committee on Games and Amusement hearing held on Wednesday, Tengco reported that since July, five POGOs have immediately ceased operations. He mentioned that 41 PAGCOR-licensed POGOs (also known as Internet Gaming License holders or IGLs) are about to shut down.
A POGO company located in Island Cove, Cavite Province, has informed PAGCOR that it will cease operations on December 15, 2024. To ensure compliance, the company stated it would open its doors to senators and PAGCOR officials before December 16.
Tengco also informed the committee that some licensed POGOs or IGLs have written to the committee requesting the cancellation of their licenses in writing.
However, despite the gaming operations closing on December 31, 2024, they are considering keeping the accounting and logistics departments operational until 2025, as they still need to handle some important matters.
Meanwhile, Senator Raffy Tulfo stated that the president was deceived, revealing that during the issuance of the comprehensive ban, a POGO named 12 Stars International was still operating in ASEANA, Parañaque City. This POGO occupied floors 5 to 11 of a building.
Floors 8 and 9 of the building are PAGCOR licensed offices, while the other floors were used for illegal operations. Tulfo also mentioned that PAGCOR has a satellite office on the 11th floor.
However, Tengco pointed out that the president was not deceived by this POGO operation, as his deadline was set for the end of 2024. He stated that they have deployed personnel to monitor POGOs 24/7, not just sending inspectors. He promised to inspect the POGO center mentioned by Tulfo.
