The government of the Philippines is warning its citizens, pointing to the correlation between illegal gambling and organised crime, to avoid engaging in online gambling and threatening prosecution if they do.
The federal government reminds people in a statement posted on the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) website that all gambling on the internet is illegal.
The regulator stated that PAGCOR has received information that certain individuals have organised illegal bingo games and online gambling and used Facebook to promote such illegal activities. It is warned the public not to patronise such schemes because of the risk of scamming, identity theft, and credit card fraud. It is also a crime to bet on such illicit gambling activities, the regulator continued.
The agency added that, because there is a “strong link between illegal gambling and organised crime,” the government will prosecute people who disregard the warning.
While the Philippines bans its own people from playing online gambling, it is one of the richest Internet casino operations hubs in the world. Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators have become a massive tax generator for President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines, or POGOs as they are known.
“POGOs mainly cater for those in China where almost all forms of gambling are banned, with the exception being the state-run Welfare Lottery. Macau, the world’s richest casino market, is a People’s Republic Special Administrative Region and operates within its own gambling laws.”
Several gamblers have turned to online gambling sites as the COVID-19 pandemic halted travel and closed casinos across Asia. More than 11,500 people suspected of engaging in a cross-border gambling enterprise have been arrested by Chinese authorities recently. The Chinese Ministry of Public Security says the operation has raised bets of $32.3 billion.
PAGCOR says that only those licenced to conduct online gambling are allowed to run a web gaming site. Sixty entities in the Philippines currently hold licences for POGO.
China has called on the Philippines to withdraw its licences and close down online gaming companies. But after meeting President Xi Jinping of the People’s Republic, Rodrigo said it is not the decision of China to tell the Philippines what to do, and POGOs are helping the country far too much.
Recently PAGCOR unveiled a campaign to hype the gaming companies’ benefits. PAGCOR dispels several rumours concerning internet businesses in a pamphlet titled, “The Truth About POGO: A Primer.”
PAGCOR rejects allegations that an increase in prostitution has resulted from the large influx of Chinese nationals to the Philippines to work in the POGO centres.
The Senate hearings on the issue “did not address the deeper issues behind prostitution,” PAGCOR says.
“It does not even touch on Filipino prostitution, whether by other nationalities or by fellow Filipinos, to begin with. The number of Philippine prostitutes is estimated at 800,000 including 100,000 children, “said PAGCOR.”
PAGCOR further rejects claims that POGOs are engaged in illegal businesses, since most of their customers are prohibited from accessing the sites in their home countries. The campaign declares, “PAGCOR is working closely with the Chinese Embassy in the Philippines to crackdown on Chinese nationals with criminal records.”
Finally, the gaming regulator disputed claims that POGOs are China’s spy network, and that some of the Chinese iGaming centre workers, many of whom are near Filipino military bases, are relaying data back to the People’s Republic.