THE Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO) are entities or private businesses that offer and participate in offshore gaming services by providing games to players, taking bets, and paying the winning players. While these gambling activities are situated in the Philippines, the bettors are mostly foreigners who are doing the betting outside the country.
POGO’s basic gaming activity consists of online games of chance through the internet, using a network and software, exclusively for offshore-authorized players who have registered and consequently maintains an online gaming account with the POGO in the country. All POGOs are licensed by the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR) but as things stand now, there are POGOs operating in the style of call centers which are unregistered and therefore illegal.
The National Capital Region hosts the biggest number of POGOs, with Makati having 27, Pasay 12, Manila 4, and two each in Las Piñas, Mandaluyong, Parañaque, and Quezon City.
‘… even Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno said the country does not need POGOs because the cost outweighs the benefits that we derive from them.’
While strictly regulated by the government, POGOs have become centers of social ills such as crime, poverty and psychological stress, and foreigners employed by these firms find it hard working in a foreign land with a totally different culture and traditions. While POGOs contribute some P8 billion to P10 billion to the economy every year, these are paltry sums considering the cost of hosting them here, not to mention the social cost in the form of poverty, crimes such as robbery, kidnapping and murder, etc. Recognizing this fact, even Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno said the country does not need POGOs because the cost outweighs the benefits that we derive from them.
This is precisely the reason Valenzuela Mayor Weslie “Wes” Gatchalian signed an ordinance that bans POGOs in the city. Ordinance No. 1105 passed by the city council on June 22 covers all forms of POGOs applying for a license to operate, POGO agents, service providers, and gaming support providers.
City officials said they had to adopt a measure “that will aid in the complete eradication of the evils and social ills brought about by offshore gaming operations,” pointing to reports showing the proliferation of POGOs has been causing social, economic and security problems like money laundering, human trafficking, kidnaping, and even prostitution.
They also said the adverse impact of POGOs surpass their supposed economic benefits and can potentially worsen social ills.
Mayor Gatchalian said they do not want to go against policies of the national government “but we all know that gambling can destroy the lives of the people,” thus the passage of their anti-POGO ordinance. He noted that during the COVID-19 pandemic, some residents spent the financial assistance given by the city government on gambling instead of buying food and other necessities.
Valenzuela’s example is worth a serious look – if not emulation – for government policymakers, both in the local government units and the national level.
