GGRAsia – Pagcor converts 13 provisional offshore licences to full ones

Pagcor converts 13 provisional offshore licences to full ones

May 21, 2024 Newsdesk Latest News, Philippines, Top of the deck

The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp (Pagcor) has converted 13 provisional “Internet Gaming Licensee” (IGL) permits, to full ones, according to a review by GGRAsia of materials issued by Pagcor, that country’s gaming regulator.

The permits were issued by Pagcor’s Offshore Gaming Licensing Department, as per an undated regulatory paper viewed by GGRAsia and compared with the previous list. On the latest list, a further nine entities are on a “provisional licence” roster, though one of those is subject to an “approved voluntary suspension”.

The conversion of 13 provisional licences out of a previous roster of 23 provisional permits, takes to 40 the list of IGL permit holders allowed to offer gaming to customers offshore under that system. One provisional holder that had been on the 23-strong roster, Zun Yuan Technology Inc, had its licence cancelled after a March raid of its premises by the Philippine authorities.

The Pagcor board approved in July last year new regulations for offshore gaming operators in the country, now referred to by the IGL initials.

A previous regulatory regime for offshore gaming businesses had referred to “Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators” or POGOs.

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.