Internet gaming licensees (IGLs), formerly known as licensed Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs), and their respective service providers have been advised by the state gaming regulator they may keep their operations in “status quo” pending guidelines of the President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s order for a POGO ban by yearend.
In a statement over the weekend, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) said in a memorandum issued last July 23, IGLs and their service providers have been informed that, “pending finalization of the details and process of winding down, operations may remain in status quo.”
The memo was issued after the President, in his recent State of the Nation Address, announced POGOs are now banned, with PAGCOR instructed to wind down and cease POGO operations by the end of the year.
“We reiterate, and we advise our local government units (LGUs), that licensed IGLs can continue operating until we have determined the process of winding down their operations, which we currently have not yet finalized,” Jessa Mariz Fernandez, head of Pagocr’s offshore gaming licensing department, said.
Pagcor earlier slammed a disinformation campaign through a memorandum purportedly ordering LGUs to immediately terminate the operations of POGOs by August, pointing out that the memo was fake.
Fernandez said the supposed memo to LGUs in Metro Manila dated July 26 was a forged version of the earlier official memo.
“We have not issued a memorandum ordering LGUs to immediately close down POGO operations in their jurisdiction because the President’s order is very clear: We have until the end of the year to wind down POGO operations, and we will follow that,” Fernandez said.
The fake memo was telling select LGUs in Metro Manila to terminate POGO operations “within the first week of August”.
“This is a clear disinformation intended to create chaos and confusion. Whoever is behind this clearly has ulterior motives, and we shall ask the National Bureau of Investigation to investigate and unmask them to determine their motives,” she said.
In a House committee hearing last week, Pagcor chairman Alejandro Tengco confirmed the President’s instruction to ban POGOs includes the legitimate entities known as IGLs.
As of July 16, there were 38 IGLs with regular licenses, while seven were granted provisional licenses.
