Philippine senator Sherwin Gatchalian (pictured) has filed a bill seeking to outlaw operations of Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) in the country.
Mr Gatchalian, the chair of the Senate Committee on Ways and Means, filed last week “Senate Bill 2689”, looking to repeal the status of offshore gaming as a taxable activity in the Philippines, which he says is the “only law that legitimises POGO operations”.
“The main goal is ultimately to outlaw and prohibit offshore gaming operations in the country,” said Mr Gatchalian in a statement. He cited a “mounting outcry” for such a move “as criminal activities linked to the industry continue to rise”.
The country’s gaming regulator, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp (Pagcor), approved in July last year new regulations for POGOs, which are now referred to as “Internet Gaming Licensees” (IGLs).
In his statement, the senator acknowledged that the offshore gaming industry had “brought in revenue and jobs,” but said the country was “grappling with a surge in POGO-related crimes, raising concerns about the overall impact on the industry”.
He cited several incidents involving POGO operators, the latest in March this year, resulting in a police raid of facilities in Tarlac, located in the central Luzon region.
According to local media reports, the Philippine authorities “rescued” 875 people during a raid at the offices of an offshore licensee in Tarlac, identified as Zun Yuan Technology Inc. The licence of this operator was cancelled following the raid, said the country’s gaming regulator.
“In response to ongoing concerns, this bill seeks to repeal the taxability of offshore gaming as provided in RA No. 11590, which is the only law that acknowledges and legitimises POGO operations in the Philippines,” said Mr Gatchalian in the explanatory note of the bill he submitted to the senate.
“By doing so, the intent is not to go back to old tax regime, but to repeal the legitimacy of its operations and activities thereof. Its main goal is ultimately to outlaw and prohibit offshore gaming operations (i.e., now known as Internet gaming operations) in the Philippines,” the note added.
Pagcor recently converted 13 provisional IGL permits to full ones, according to a review by GGRAsia of materials issued by the regulator. The conversion took to 40 the list of IGL permit holders allowed to offer gaming to customers offshore.
The regulator had previously said that some former POGO licensees had brought the sector into disrepute due to factors including tax avoidance, illegal employment, and failure to pay proper fees.
In Pagcor’s own first-quarter earnings statement late last month, the regulator said offshore gaming operations contributed just under PHP860.9 million (US$14.8 million) – or 3.9 percent – of its quarterly revenues from gaming operations, which had amounted to PHP22.29 billion.
