On November 5, Philippine President Marcos Jr. signed the prohibition order against gambling in the Philippines--Executive Order No. 74.
The specific implementation targets of this executive order include:
1. Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO)
Entities that provide or participate in offshore gaming services, including:
POGO License Holders: Operators authorized by PAGCOR to provide offshore gaming services.
POGO Gaming Agents: Local representatives serving POGO operations in the Philippines.
POGO Service Providers: Companies providing operational support, such as IT services, live studios, streaming, gaming software platforms, etc.
2. Offshore Gaming Operations/Services
Online gaming services provided via the internet to foreign players outside the Philippines, covering:
Live electronic casino (e-casino) games.
Online Random Number Generator (RNG) games.
Online sports betting.
Excludes: Casinos operated by PAGCOR, gaming activities within integrated resorts.
3. Internet Gaming License Holders (IGL)
Businesses specifically providing online gaming services to overseas players, including live casino games, RNG games, and sports betting.
Includes local agents representing foreign IGLs and companies providing gaming content or support services
4. Other Offshore Gaming License Holders
Operators licensed by economic zones, tourism zones, or freeport authorities, regulated by PAGCOR, including agents and service providers for offshore gaming operators.
The specific contents of the prohibition include:
1. Illegal Offshore Gaming Operations
POGOs, IGLs, and other offshore gaming operators without legal licenses or authorization are considered illegal and will face severe crackdowns by law enforcement.
2. License Applications
No new license, permit, or authorization applications related to POGO or IGL will be accepted.
3. License Renewal
Existing licenses, permits, or authorizations will not be extended or renewed.
4. Operation Termination
All POGO, IGL, and related service providers must completely cease operations and liquidate their businesses by December 31, 2024.
Actually, since the prohibition was issued in July, companies have gradually been moving out. After the Philippine government's final deadline of October 15, many companies began relocating to Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, and other places.
Some companies that could not leave the Philippines due to visa issues chose to move to resorts and residential apartments in the Philippines to continue their operations.
As a result, we all know, many were taken away by the Philippine police after less than a month of such operations, and some in the resorts were also reported and raided.
What about those working in office buildings? As the December 31 deadline approaches, multiple departments in the Philippines are also intensifying law enforcement. Even BPO companies in the Bataan Economic Zone have been raided!
Could it be that the Philippine POGO is about to cool down?
PASA boldly speculates, not yet!
Firstly: Marcos only issued an executive order, not a specific law.
In the Philippines, an executive order is a tool for the president to exercise executive power, which can be adjusted according to the president's policy direction. In other words, Marcos could completely repeal Order No. 74 or partially revise its contents at any time.
If one day, Marcos says he wants to repeal this order or revise some of its contents, it is possible.
Secondly: The executive order has loopholes, and as long as there is innovation, there will be new "opportunities".
Those who have carefully read the executive order know that it does not prohibit PAGCOR-operated casinos or gaming activities within integrated resorts.
There are always more solutions than problems, as long as you want to do it, besides moving underground, covert operations, wild operations, and going to lawless areas (such as the Golden Triangle), there are still feasible methods.
Some netizens have submitted, for example:
1. Change the appearance, shift business models
Prohibited offshore gaming operators might continue operations by changing their business registration nature, claiming to conduct non-gaming related services (such as technical support, software development, BPO).
The executive order focuses on specific offshore gaming activities, while some companies might evade regulation by concealing their actual business nature.
How to operate: Dissolve the gaming department, re-register as an "IT service company," but still privately provide gaming services to offshore clients.
2. Utilize activities not included in the prohibition
The executive order does not cover online gaming activities of domestic entities licensed by PAGCOR and integrated resorts. Some operators might disguise their offshore operations as these legal activities.
The scope of legal domestic gaming activities is not completely blocked, which might be exploited by illegal operators.
How to operate: A company applies for a gaming license under the guise of a resort, but actually provides cross-border online gaming services.
3. Utilize cross-border jurisdiction issues
Some operators might move servers, funds, and staff abroad, but still employ staff in the Philippines or conduct some business there.
International law enforcement cooperation might not be timely enough to comprehensively track cross-border activities.
How to operate: A gaming company moves its technical support and betting systems to neighboring countries (such as Vietnam or Cambodia) and continues to serve offshore clients.
4. Utilize special economic zones or specific legal loopholes
Some economic zones might have more lenient regulatory enforcement, which operators might use to continue activities.
There might be regulatory coordination issues between local special zones and national policies.
How to operate: The regulatory leniency of the Cagayan Economic Zone or similar areas might become a "hosting" location for some gaming companies.
Thirdly: All political maneuvers, frankly, are about "dividing the cake". It's about who gets more benefits, who gets bigger shares!
Banning gaming and issuing executive orders, nicely put, is about removing social cancers; bluntly put, it's about reshuffling and redistributing interests.
Look at Duterte, when he demanded POGO license renewals, many companies were indifferent, and later Duterte got so angry that he directly arrested nearly 2000 people to set an example, and then everyone obediently went to renew their licenses.
Marcos might also have this plan! But now, as the whole country is strictly cracking down on POGO, Marcos can't easily let up.
Fourthly: There are still tens of thousands of foreign POGO workers who have not been downgraded and left the country, and Filipino workers are also very resistant.
According to the Labor Department data, the number of Filipino and foreign POGO workers at risk of unemployment is 79,735. But in the recent three or four job fairs, the total number of applicants did not even exceed 200, and those who were hired on the spot were even fewer.
The previous salaries were enough to support families, now they barely make ends meet, who would be happy?
The POGO industry is now entering a harsh winter, but it has not been completely suppressed yet. Just wait until this year is over, waiting for the opportunity when the dawn breaks!
