SEN. Raffy Tulfo yesterday urged the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor) to stop granting licenses to new Philippine Inland Gaming Operator (PIGO) facilities after getting information that many Filipinos have become addicted to the gambling games which are offered on its websites.
PIGO was introduced by Pagcor in 2018. It allows gaming operators to conduct business within the Philippines, including casino games, sports betting, and online gaming, among others. It is directed towards the domestic market.
PIGO license applicants are required to have a P100 million minimum capitalization and at least 10 years experience in the gaming industry. They must have association with a land-based property.
Tulfo said Pagcor should stop granting licenses to new online gaming applicants and first review if PIGOs with existing permits are strictly abiding with its rules and regulations.
He said PIGOs are “worse” than the Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO) facilities because they involve local gamblers, young and old alike.
“Ang POGO ang biktima ay foreigners. Of course, napakasama niyan. Pinakamasama sa lahat. Pero ang hari ng kasamaan ay itong PIGO dahil ang mga manlalaro ay Pilipino (POGOs preyed on foreigners, which is of course very bad. But this PIGO is worse because the bettors are Filipinos),” Tulfo said during the hearing of the Committee on Games and Amusement which was conducted in relation to President Marcos Jr.’s directive to ban all POGOs in the country, and Resolution No. 1083 which mandates the Pagcor and other appropriate agencies to give updates on the wind-up operations of POGOs.
Tulfo also lamented that PIGO games are accessible to minors due to apparent lack of strict registration process.
“Ang PIGO ay nag uumpisa nang maging problema. PIGO is in-shore, ang mga mananaya ay mga Pilipino. Darating ang time tataas ang krimen dahil lulong ang Pilipino sa PIGO. It has to be regulated. Pati mga elementary at high school students natututo na maglaro, easily accessible kasi (PIGO is starting to be a problem. PIGO is in-shore, the players are Filipinos. There will come a time that the crime rate will go up because a lot of Filipinos are already hooked on PIGOs. It has to be regulated. I have learned that even elementary and high school students are playing because the websites are easily accessible),” he added.
He noted that PIGOs offer a wide array of online gambling games, such as color games, bingo, ‘scatter’ slot machine games, roulette, and casino games, among others.
Vina Oca, of Pagcor’s gaming licensing and development department, said their agency has granted licenses to 60 PIGOs to date.
The operators, Oca said, are always reminded to adhere to Pagcor’s Responsible Gaming Program, which includes the player himself requesting for him or her to be banned from playing in PIGOs if they feel that they are already addicted to it.
“Puwede po silang mag-ban ng sarili or yung pamilya nila yung puwede din mag-nominate (They can request themselves or their families can nominate or recommend that they be banned),” she said.
But Tulfo said he finds it impossible that a hooked PIGO player would impose or request a self-ban since he or she is already addicted to gambling. He said Pagcor must think of other ways to stop players from being hooked to PIGO games.
He added that Pagcor should also be very strict in screening player registration so that minors will not have a chance to play online gambling games.
Luis Masilang, of Pagcor’s electronic gaming licensing department, said their agency has a list of penalties imposed on PIGOs that will be found violating rules and regulations, like allowing minors to play.
For the first offense, Masilang said operators were slapped with a P25,000 fine; for second offense, a P50,000 fine; and for third offense, a P100,000 fine.
Tulfo said Pagcor should just cancel the licenses of PIGOs found violating the regulations the second time and not wait for them to commit more violations.
E-SABONG
Tulfo also asked Pagcor to stop the operations of illegal e-sabong (livestreamed cockfighting) websites which he said are rampant in Pampanga and the Negros provinces, despite it being banned by former President Duterte a few months before stepping down from the presidency in 2022.
The ban came after 34 cockfighting enthusiasts went missing between April 2021 and January 2022. To date, none of the cockfighters have yet to be located.
Raul Villanueva, of Pagcor’s security division, said Pagcor has reported to the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) the operations of 9,702 illegal gambling sites from September 2022 to January 31 this year, of which 3,806 are illegal e-sabong websites.
As of January this year, Villenueva said they have also monitored 276 illegal online gambling websites which includes e-sabong and online casino games that were connected to POGOs. He said the NTC has already blocked 136 of these sites.
He said they have likewise received 20 reports from concerned citizens that POGO physical sites continue to operate, adding that some of the reports have been validated to be true.
Villanueva said: “In fairness to NTC, actually NTC is very responsive. Out of the 9,000 plus illegal sites, they were able to block already 7,553. That’s 77.85 percent blocking percentage, which is higher than last December which is only 67 percent. So, we would like to thank the NTC for doing their job.”
During the hearing, Sen. Mark Villar also asked proper authorities to investigate the people who have been providing fake documents bearing Filipino citizenship to foreigners, most of whom are Chinese, to be able to enter and work in the POGO industry.
“Some of their fake documents were marriage certificates, birth certificates and passports of foreign nationals using Filipino names. These illegal agencies that issue fake documents are sure to have connections with various government agencies…This makes us realize that we barely scratched the surface of this POGO issue. We need to look at the angle that there is an inside job,” Villar said.
“This is the possible reason for the continued entry of foreign nationals into the Philippines using fake documents,” he added.
Tulfo said authorities should immediately deport former foreign POGO employees to eradicate guerilla-type offshore gaming operations.
Pagcor said the operations of 42 internet gaming licensees, seven content providers, and 11 support providers were shut down after the December 31 deadline imposed by the government on all POGOs.
As of August 2024, the POGO industry employed a total of 58,181 Filipinos and 30.144 foreigners.
