On December 31, 2024, the Philippines officially implemented a comprehensive ban on Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO), requiring all foreign workers who did not exit on time to leave the country. However, the Cagayan Economic Zone Authority (CEZA) insists that its operating model is different from traditional POGO businesses and continues to seek an exemption from this ban.
Despite clear government directives that all regions, including CEZA, must cease POGO operations, CEZA stubbornly maintains its stance, claiming it should not be affected by this ban.
Current Situation of the POGO Ban in the Philippines
Since the beginning of 2024, the Philippine government has intensified its regulation of the POGO industry, especially under the strong push of the Department of Justice and the Bureau of Immigration, gradually beginning to completely prohibit the operation of POGOs.
Justice Minister Jesus Crispin Remulla explicitly stated that all foreign POGO workers must leave the country by December 31, 2024, or face severe legal consequences. The implementation of this ban is aimed at addressing long-standing social issues brought by the industry, including human trafficking, kidnapping, prostitution, and other criminal activities.
The Philippine government's decision initially sparked widespread attention, particularly as about 11,000 foreign workers failed to leave on time, becoming a major target for government crackdowns.
The government promises to intensify efforts to track and deport these illegal overstayers. Minister Remulla further stated that the government firmly supports the Filipino people and is determined to end the chaos in the online gambling industry, ensuring the enforcement of national laws.
All other local governments have been ordered to watch for suspicious POGO/IGL operations, except for one place, the CEZA Cagayan Special Economic Zone!
CEZA Repeatedly Distances Itself from the POGO Ban
Although the Philippine government has decided to implement the POGO ban nationwide, CEZA insists that its business operation model fundamentally differs from traditional POGO, thus should not be affected by the ban. CEZA Executive Director Katrina Ponce Enrile has reiterated on multiple occasions that CEZA does not operate POGO but provides iGaming support services for offshore companies.
She stated that the Cagayan Economic Zone only allows service providers related to online gambling to operate, strictly restricting these businesses from accepting bets from within the Philippines. This is different from the behavior of traditional POGO operators, who directly provide gambling services to global players through operations within the Philippines.
CEZA emphasizes that its iGaming model is to provide support for external clients, and it never involves any form of illegal gambling. Enrile also specifically pointed out that most of the employees in CEZA operators are local Filipinos, and the transfer of licenses or illegal gambling activities is strictly prohibited.
However, despite CEZA's clear statement of its irrelevance to POGO, the Presidential Office and the Department of Justice still require it to comply with the ban, considering CEZA as part of the administrative department, unable to evade national policy constraints.
In November 2024, Malacañang issued a directive requiring all economic zones, including CEZA, to immediately cease POGO operations, noting that this ban is not merely aimed at illegal POGO operations but is intended to regulate the entire industry.
But CEZA remains indifferent, even seemingly unbothered by the situation.
Why is CEZA so adamant about excluding itself from the POGO ban? Is there something fishy, or is it just defiance?
CEZA's stance on exempting itself from the POGO ban is not without background. Since its establishment, the Cagayan Economic Zone has attracted a large amount of foreign investment into the gambling industry, thanks to its favorable tax policies and lax regulatory environment. As a major online gambling hub in the Philippines, CEZA's gambling business has become an important economic pillar of the region. Many large POGO enterprises have registered in CEZA, enjoying its unique policy support.
However, with the Marcos administration's strict control over the POGO industry, CEZA's position has become delicate.
Although CEZA insists that its operation mode differs from traditional POGO, the industry generally believes that the boundary between CEZA's "iGaming" model and POGO is quite blurred, especially in the context of relatively loose external regulation.
In fact, many POGO operators register in CEZA to continue taking advantage of the region's favorable conditions for gambling activities.
From an economic interest perspective, if CEZA fully complies with the POGO ban, it will undoubtedly lose a significant amount of foreign investment and related tax revenue. CEZA's persistence may not only be a defense of its existing operation model but also because of the region's significant economic status in the gambling industry.
Without economic advantages, can CEZA still be called CEZA?
Earlier, Marcos said that there was no need to enact specific laws for the POGO ban, further emboldening CEZA's arrogance.
Ultimately, although the Philippine government is strongly implementing the POGO ban nationwide, the Cagayan Economic Zone (CEZA) still insists that its business differs from traditional POGO and should not be affected by the ban. CEZA's stance reflects its dependence on foreign investment and its adherence to the special regulatory model of the special zone.
However, this also raises questions about whether the zone is truly as "immaculate" as it claims.
Under increasingly strict government regulation, whether CEZA can continue to be exempt remains to be seen through further legal scrutiny and political maneuvering!
