MANILA – The Philippines’ gaming regulatory body “cannot handle” the influx of Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs) in the country, a senator said Thursday, after a Senate inquiry found various irregularities in the country’s internet gambling industry.
The Senate Blue Ribbon Committee earlier found that hundreds of POGOs have been operating in the country without licenses from the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR).
“Having about 200 illegal POGOs– even more than the 61 PAGCOR-licensed POGOs– is a clear indication that the state gaming regulator cannot handle the regulation of POGOs,” Sen. Joel Villanueva said in a statement.
“We’re dumbfounded that POGO firms continue to sprout despite the prevailing ban implemented by PAGCOR,” he said.
The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) only collected some P8 billion from POGOs in 2019, less than 15 percent of the industry’s projected P50-billion tax dues. Collections have been low because PAGCOR did not strictly require POGOs to pay a 5-percent licensing fee, BIR officials present in the hearing had said.
“PAGCOR, the state gaming regulator, cannot simply shift the blame to other agencies for their shortcomings, particularly tax collection,” Villanueva said.
“We remind PAGCOR that it’s their responsibility to ensure the entities they regulate comply with prevailing rules and regulations of our country,” he said.
Villanueva was among senators who have been calling for a ban on offshore gaming in the Philippines, saying the industry deemed illegal in China has been “causing issues” on the country’s peace and order situation.
Previous Senate investigations revealed that prostitution dens, money laundering syndicates and corruption at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport were linked to Chinese-run gaming firms.
A high-ranking police official also said the rise in criminality in the Philippines is “directly dependent” to the influx of Chinese POGO workers.
PAGCOR officials are expected to be summoned back to the Senate next week as lawmakers continue to weight the possibility of permanently banning offshore gaming operations in the Philippines.
