The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) is taking decisive steps to clean up the country’s online gambling industry by shutting down Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) centers. PAGCOR Chairman and CEO Alejandro Tengco made the announcement on July 11 during a Senate inquiry.
Tengco noted that while it is impossible to completely eliminate illegal activities, PAGCOR aims to suppress illegal activities by banning POGO 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 working on certain guidelines and have closed centers,” the Inquirer quoted Tengco as saying.
The person in charge of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation added: "Currently, there is no order to close, but we can inform everyone in advance that we will not allow any intermediaries to exist or be applied for. We will not approve it anymore because we want to achieve the goal of ensuring the safety of sites and venues. ”
PAGCOR is implementing the new policy after Senator Sherwin Gatchalian sought assurances that criminal activity by POGOs would never happen again.
