PH Senator pushes a Ban to POGOs and All Sort of Online Gambling...

[Wind_FURY]

I agree with what you said and it's the best possible course for this problem to be cured.
Banning will only make the illegal gambling sites do it in the shadows which means the government will not tax them. That's the worst outcome in what they are trying to do now and I don't think they have any idea how much money is coming in from all these gambling sites.

👍

That's absolutely right. But the beautiful situation that could be built on top of that is, it's an opportunity for censorship-resistant tech like Bitcoin to be utilized as a result of the "government ban". If all of online gambling is truly banned in your country, use that as an opportunity to teach and encourage people about Bitcoin.

But my personal viewpoint is it shouldn't matter what or who is right. We have Bitcoin as a currency to use for gambling if there's truly an absolute ban in each of our countries.

Sadly, the bill which this OP raised regarding our country ban includes online gambling regardless of the currency use such as Bitcoin. Our senators is convinced that any form of online gambling is harmful since it’s widely promoted in social media especially on facebook which many influencers do livestream or insert gambling clip to their content at the end of the video.

I doubt that this law will be successful since there’s a lot of influential people involved on this business which the Philippines government getting support.

That's the point. How can the government of your country stop the use of Bitcoin? It can't shut it down, it can't ban all of the full nodes, they would need to shut off your country from the public internet.

[TheUltraElite]

This has to be due to something related to taxation of POGOs. Government there does collect taxes but maybe they are not coughing up enough need to cover it. Due to this they are attempting to ban them. These things are often temporary and they will try to reestablish legal operations soon after some bribery to pay off this. Eventually they will move to illegal operations to continue the flow of money.

Nothing much we can do about it, for addicted gamblers who might feel bad, they will just use casinos other then ones by POGOs. Laws like these only make the news, eventually they get changed. So keep calm and continue playing.

[acroman08]

This has to be due to something related to taxation of POGOs. Government there does collect taxes but maybe they are not coughing up enough need to cover it. Due to this they are attempting to ban them. These things are often temporary and they will try to reestablish legal operations soon after some bribery to pay off this. Eventually they will move to illegal operations to continue the flow of money.

Nothing much we can do about it, for addicted gamblers who might feel bad, they will just use casinos other then ones by POGOs. Laws like these only make the news, eventually they get changed. So keep calm and continue playing.

I think it is more about the concern for national security, there have been a lot of Chinese doing illegal activities in the Philippines who are usually connected to one of the companies in POGO. right now there is even a case going on against a government official(a mayor) in the Philippines who is suspected of being a Chinese spy and having a connection to POGO companies and POGO-related crimes.

POGO could really be good for the Philippines if the government handles it properly and does not let stupid corrupt officials manage it.

[Kemarit]

This has to be due to something related to taxation of POGOs. Government there does collect taxes but maybe they are not coughing up enough need to cover it. Due to this they are attempting to ban them. These things are often temporary and they will try to reestablish legal operations soon after some bribery to pay off this. Eventually they will move to illegal operations to continue the flow of money.

Nothing much we can do about it, for addicted gamblers who might feel bad, they will just use casinos other then ones by POGOs. Laws like these only make the news, eventually they get changed. So keep calm and continue playing.

I think it is more about the concern for national security, there have been a lot of Chinese doing illegal activities in the Philippines who are usually connected to one of the companies in POGO. right now there is even a case going on against a government official(a mayor) in the Philippines who is suspected of being a Chinese spy and having a connection to POGO companies and POGO-related crimes.

POGO could really be good for the Philippines if the government handles it properly and does not let stupid corrupt officials manage it.

Yes, I also had the same impression that this is just a front for the Chinese to infiltrate the Philippines in case that there will be a arm conflict between the two nations. Those building are huge with underground and so they will really need to be strict as to who can enter their countries specially Chinese. And now that one mayor has been suspended if I'm not mistaken as she is proven to be Chinese, maybe a mole and a protector of this Pogo hub.

So you can't blame the Philippine government for acting this way. Maybe this is temporary or it could really be the end of this POGO in the country and then start accounting everything before it got out of hand.

[bisdak40]

Yes, I also had the same impression that this is just a front for the Chinese to infiltrate the Philippines in case that there will be a arm conflict between the two nations. Those building are huge with underground and so they will really need to be strict as to who can enter their countries specially Chinese. And now that one mayor has been suspended if I'm not mistaken as she is proven to be Chinese, maybe a mole and a protector of this Pogo hub.

So you can't blame the Philippine government for acting this way. Maybe this is temporary or it could really be the end of this POGO in the country and then start accounting everything before it got out of hand.

With all the events happening right now in our country, i do hope that they would end this POGO, the Chinese were using this to infiltrate our country so end this thing before it will be out of control. Anyways, the money we get from POGO is not important at the moment, the important for the Philippines right to is to get rid of the Chinese people who are in our country as they might be used if the conflict in the West Philippine sea escalate into further chaos.

[wxa7115]

This is very bad for the people who love online gambling in the Philippines.  A senator of the Philippines proposes a Bill to ban all Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) and all kinds of Online Gambling.  Any individual involved  will be fined  up to Php500k(US$8,536) or imprisoned for up to six months.

edited

The proposed bill is due to the recent illegal POGO raids where human trafficking, murder, and money laundering were uncovered. Due to this, one of the Philippine senators believes that the best move is to ban POGOs and online gambling all in all and punish any person who is involved in online gambling activity if the bill is approved.

In my personal view, I do not think there is a need to ban POGO's and online gambling.  This is not the fault of a regular individual but the institution behind the gambling regulatory board.  Instead of banning and penalizing people who are engaged in gambling activities, the bill should strengthen the regulation and purge the institution of any corrupt official that allows these illegal activities to proliferate.  He should implement a bill that will severely punish any government official that engage in illegal gambling activities. Banning POGOs and online gambling is like taking the easiest way out and depriving the Philippine government of the possible revenue that can be generated from these ventures and as if this kind of bill will prevent illegal gambling from existing in a country. I hope this kind of bill won't progress instead take an alternative implementation of cleansing the gambling regulatory board of any corrupt official and holding them accountable for their wicked crimes.

What about you do you think banning offshore gambling operators and online gambling will solve the spread of illegal gambling activities in a country?

This is easy to do on paper, as it is easy to pass a law like that when those illegal events have happened, but it is a completely different thing to actually implement that kind of law.

People are going to gamble even if gambling is made illegal, so the only thing this law will do is to give that business to the organized crime, which in return will make a fortune with it, as they do not have to respect any kind of regulation, so the government will go from earning money from the taxes being generated by the gambling industry, to spend a fortune trying to fight those criminal organizations.

[Casdinyard]

This is very bad for the people who love online gambling in the Philippines.  A senator of the Philippines proposes a Bill to ban all Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) and all kinds of Online Gambling.  Any individual involved  will be fined  up to Php500k(US$8,536) or imprisoned for up to six months. More story on the link below:

Philippines senator pushes for banning POGOs, all forms of online gambling



The proposed bill is due to the recent illegal POGO raids where human trafficking, murder, and money laundering were uncovered. Due to this, one of the Philippine senators believes that the best move is to ban POGOs and online gambling all in all and punish any person who is involved in online gambling activity if the bill is approved.

In my personal view, I do not think there is a need to ban POGO's and online gambling.  This is not the fault of a regular individual but the institution behind the gambling regulatory board.  Instead of banning and penalizing people who are engaged in gambling activities, the bill should strengthen the regulation and purge the institution of any corrupt official that allows these illegal activities to proliferate.  He should implement a bill that will severely punish any government official that engage in illegal gambling activities. Banning POGOs and online gambling is like taking the easiest way out and depriving the Philippine government of the possible revenue that can be generated from these ventures and as if this kind of bill will prevent illegal gambling from existing in a country. I hope this kind of bill won't progress instead take an alternative implementation of cleansing the gambling regulatory board of any corrupt official and holding them accountable for their wicked crimes.

What about you do you think banning offshore gambling operators and online gambling will solve the spread of illegal gambling activities in a country?

I mean, this is like hitting two birds with one stone. Here in the Philippines we're faced with the constant fear that China may just attack us any time of the day, with the recent pressure they are exerting against the West Philippine Sea and nearby territories. With most Chinese Sleeper Agents (this is confirmed by the government) acting as POGO workers from overseas, this is a great way to really pressure the hand of China and make them think twice about assimilating themselves upon the Filipino people.

Plus we're also receiving quite a massive concern with the way that gambling is sensationalized and normalized in our country. A lot of people and content creators here are tempted with the promise of a large sum of money for little to no effort in exchange for getting sponsored on a casino that is not signed to our gambling committee. This not only breaks the law, but also inadvertently subjects people who are down on their luck, and in some worse cases even minors into getting into gambling.

So yeah, smart move if I do say so myself. I'm a gambler at heart and while this will make me stop doing what I loved doing for years now, I wouldn't mind if it means we get a massive benefit out of it.

[acroman08]

I know this thread has been dead for several weeks and I am not sure if anyone is interested but there has been an update about it today. the Philippine president announced that POGO is banned effective today during his SONA.

for anyone curious and want more info about it, here's an article.
https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/topstories/nation/914272/marcos-announces-ban-on-all-pogo/story/

POGO could have been a good asset to the Philippines if they ran it properly but stupid and corrupt officials ruined it and made it a haven for illegal activities for the Chinese.

[kotajikikox]

The proposed bill is due to the recent illegal POGO raids where human trafficking, murder, and money laundering were uncovered. Due to this, one of the Philippine senators believes that the best move is to ban POGOs and online gambling all in all and punish any person who is involved in online gambling activity if the bill is approved.

POGO seemed to be only a cover up for the other illegal activities prompted by different kinds of authorities. This definitely gives off a bad image to any kinds of gambling in the country. Which is a shame because the country could benefit economically from online gambling.

I hope they can find a balance between ensuring legal and safe gambling without eradicating all kinds of gambling in the process.

I know this thread has been dead for several weeks and I am not sure if anyone is interested but there has been an update about it today. the Philippine president announced that POGO is banned effective today during his SONA.

for anyone curious and want more info about it, here's an article.
https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/topstories/nation/914272/marcos-announces-ban-on-all-pogo/story/

POGO could have been a good asset to the Philippines if they ran it properly but stupid and corrupt officials ruined it and made it a haven for illegal activities for the Chinese.

this make sense ,  because finally after thousand of controversies ? now the government is acting to what is best and better for their people .

[Eternad]

this make sense ,  because finally after thousand of controversies ? now the government is acting to what is best and better for their people .

Previous administration is protecting this sector due to the profit they can get from POGO. But since election is near again, Politicians is now doing their job to take down POGO to boost their influence to the citizens.

The one that gives them license should be blamed because POGO will not operate in a shady if they are being regulated properly and not just giving them license without doing thorough audit.

I believe PAGCOR gives them license which should be blame for not doing an audit.

[freedomgo]

this make sense ,  because finally after thousand of controversies ? now the government is acting to what is best and better for their people .

Previous administration is protecting this sector due to the profit they can get from POGO. But since election is near again, Politicians is now doing their job to take down POGO to boost their influence to the citizens.

The one that gives them license should be blamed because POGO will not operate in a shady if they are being regulated properly and not just giving them license without doing thorough audit.

I believe PAGCOR gives them license which should be blame for not doing an audit.

That's true. PAGCOR is the one providing licenses to the POGO, but they lack monitoring. It's understandable since the Philippines isn't too tech-savvy yet, and crypto and online gambling seem new to them. I think the government is always late with digital trends due to a lack of training, and probably one big reason is corruption. When a country is corrupt, as the Philippines is, public service is slow. I wouldn't be surprised if PAGCOR, which is supposed to regulate the POGO, is accepting bribes from the operators, making them unable to do their job well.

[coin-investor]

Previous administration is protecting this sector due to the profit they can get from POGO. But since election is near again, Politicians is now doing their job to take down POGO to boost their influence to the citizens.

The one that gives them license should be blamed because POGO will not operate in a shady if they are being regulated properly and not just giving them license without doing thorough audit.

I believe PAGCOR gives them license which should be blame for not doing an audit.

That's true. PAGCOR is the one providing licenses to the POGO, but they lack monitoring. It's understandable since the Philippines isn't too tech-savvy yet, and crypto and online gambling seem new to them. The government is always late with digital trends due to a lack of training, and probably one big reason is corruption. When a country is corrupt, as the Philippines is, public service is slow. I wouldn't be surprised if PAGCOR, which is supposed to regulate the POGO, is accepting bribes from the operators, making them unable to do their job well.

Many government officials made a lot of money from receiving bribes. The POGO industry is a multi-billion industry, and corrupt officials know this very well, so they made it their cash cow. If the operation of POGO continues, we will see many Chinese faking their citizenship to run for local officials, like the case of one Chinese Alice Guo, who faked her citizenship to run and eventually win as the mayor of one town in the Philippines.

In another five years of POGO operation, many Chinese will run many towns in the Philippines, and that could become a worse scenario and an invasion of many cities in the Philippines. I'm glad that POGO is banned, and all those perpetrators, including corrupt officials, will now face charges.

Reference : Four more witnesses emerge vs raided POGO

 

[TravelMug]

Previous administration is protecting this sector due to the profit they can get from POGO. But since election is near again, Politicians is now doing their job to take down POGO to boost their influence to the citizens.

The one that gives them license should be blamed because POGO will not operate in a shady if they are being regulated properly and not just giving them license without doing thorough audit.

I believe PAGCOR gives them license which should be blame for not doing an audit.

That's true. PAGCOR is the one providing licenses to the POGO, but they lack monitoring. It's understandable since the Philippines isn't too tech-savvy yet, and crypto and online gambling seem new to them. The government is always late with digital trends due to a lack of training, and probably one big reason is corruption. When a country is corrupt, as the Philippines is, public service is slow. I wouldn't be surprised if PAGCOR, which is supposed to regulate the POGO, is accepting bribes from the operators, making them unable to do their job well.

Many government officials made a lot of money from receiving bribes. The POGO industry is a multi-billion industry, and corrupt officials know this very well, so they made it their cash cow. If the operation of POGO continues, we will see many Chinese faking their citizenship to run for local officials, like the case of one Chinese Alice Guo, who faked her citizenship to run and eventually win as the mayor of one town in the Philippines.

In another five years of POGO operation, many Chinese will run many towns in the Philippines, and that could become a worse scenario and an invasion of many cities in the Philippines. I'm glad that POGO is banned, and all those perpetrators, including corrupt officials, will now face charges.

Reference : Four more witnesses emerge vs raided POGO

And a high ranking former government official of the previous administration could be one of the biggest protector and he was summoned to the Congress for a hearing. So yes, it's a big business, billions that is flowing in the hands of this corrupt government officials and the POGO mastermind themselves. Hopefully, we will get a positive responds as the President already said that within the hear, all POGO hubs are going to be closed already and hopefully it will happen and not just sort of trying to make himself look good in the eyes of the people.

Not only to close those POGO hubs, but prosecute the people who have gain from it, specially high government officials of the previous administration.

[shasan]

The thread opened two months ago and there has been no activity for months. Is there any update about banning POGO and all online gambling? If they really accept the ban offer then they will lose huge revenue for banning Pogo as well as online gambling. I think they should not ban that but to avoid money laundering, and trafficking they should monitor it.

[stadus]

The thread opened two months ago and there has been no activity for months. Is there any update about banning POGO and all online gambling? If they really accept the ban offer then they will lose huge revenue for banning Pogo as well as online gambling. I think they should not ban that but to avoid money laundering, and trafficking they should monitor it.

There was already an order from the president to ban POGO.

https://www.bworldonline.com/top-stories/2024/07/23/609642/marcos-orders-total-ban-on-pogos/

PRESIDENT Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. on Monday announced a total ban on all offshore gaming operations in the Philippines, saying these have been linked to illegal activities including money laundering and financial scams.

“Effective today, all POGOs are banned,” he said during his State of the Nation Address (SONA), referring to Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs).

He also ordered the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR) to wind down and end the operations of all POGO facilities by the end of 2024. He also ordered the Labor department to find new jobs for POGO workers that will be displaced.

But I heard that it's not yet totally banned. They are still in the transition process since there are a lot of Filipinos working in this industry. Slowly, they will close the POGOs until they are no longer fully operational.

[dansus021]

The proposed bill is due to the recent illegal POGO raids where human trafficking, murder, and money laundering were uncovered. Due to this, one of the Philippine senators believes that the best move is to ban POGOs and online gambling all in all and punish any person who is involved in online gambling activity if the bill is approved.

Whattt is this real a gambling had to do with all of this I mean money laundry I know a lot but human trafficking and even murder is beyond my understanding. But if this really true banning them I think is a good idea or at least put strict rule to gambling operator.

because if i look your thread it only happen to illegal gambling right?

[Baofeng]

Still a long way to go before there is going to be a blanket ban on POGO. And even if the President ordered it, might take sometime, they will have to enact a law first before they can shut it down for good.

And then they will have to cooperate with PAGCOR (Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation), so it's not at easy as it sounds. And base on other reports, some of the legal POGO's are still operating as of this time because they haven't seen any notice yet from PAGCOR. And we have seen odds as well of online gambling proliferating in Facebook that includes the legendary Manny Pacquiao.

[stompix]

Seems like they are getting serious:
https://cebudailynews.inquirer.net/593005/cebu-hotel-raid-uncovers-first-illegal-pogo-hub-in-visayas-162-foreigners-rescued

But reading the article, these POGO dens are about everything, kidnapping, romance scams, wtf..

When law enforcers arrived at the hotel, they found 162 nationals from Indonesia, China, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Burma, who appeared to be operating a scam farm.
This included 83 Chinese, 70 Indonesians, six Burmese, one Malaysian, and two Taiwanese.
Winston Casio, spokesperson of the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC), said that the foreigners occupied three multi-story buildings in their operation of love scams.

Banning POGOs and online gambling is like taking the easiest way out and depriving the Philippine government of the possible revenue that can be generated from these ventures and as if this kind of bill will prevent illegal gambling from existing in a country.

The income from taxation is a non-issue!
We had this in Europe with both gambling and smoking, if a guy doesn't gamble $10 and spends $10 on tax it doesn't mean he will burn those, he will just have a pizza and a movie ticket and he will pay VAT on those and the pizza guy and cinema owner will pay extra tax on those profits. It was proven that the only true benefit tobbaco companies are doing to the economy in terms of GDP is ironically shortening the lifespan and thus the burden on the pension scheme.


 

[cryptomaniac_xxx]

The proposed bill is due to the recent illegal POGO raids where human trafficking, murder, and money laundering were uncovered. Due to this, one of the Philippine senators believes that the best move is to ban POGOs and online gambling all in all and punish any person who is involved in online gambling activity if the bill is approved.

Whattt is this real a gambling had to do with all of this I mean money laundry I know a lot but human trafficking and even murder is beyond my understanding. But if this really true banning them I think is a good idea or at least put strict rule to gambling operator.

because if i look your thread it only happen to illegal gambling right?

I'm totally lost, so there are illegal and legal POGO's in the Philippines and what they are raiding are the illegal ones but it looks like the operators are very deep as it involved a mayor of a certain city that is now has left the Philippines and their Senate find out that she is not a Filipino but a Chinese but hiding under a guise of a Filipino citizen and was able to became a mayor and then the biggest backers of POGO?

So it's really a nightmare in the country, regardless of it is legal or illegal, they should really first put a stop on it as it is going to be a big issue as for sure there are a lot of big entities from behind protecting it and could be taking bribes.

[Viscore]

Still a long way to go before there is going to be a blanket ban on POGO. And even if the President ordered it, might take sometime, they will have to enact a law first before they can shut it down for good.

And then they will have to cooperate with PAGCOR (Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation), so it's not at easy as it sounds. And base on other reports, some of the legal POGO's are still operating as of this time because they haven't seen any notice yet from PAGCOR. And we have seen odds as well of online gambling proliferating in Facebook that includes the legendary Manny Pacquiao.

PAGCOR could not shut them down immediately because they are benefiting from the operation; that's how corrupt the government agency is. They are the ones regulating it, but they failed to see that these POGOs have already become a haven for scammers. And Philippine law is not strict in enforcement, so the operators aren’t too worried. Just imagine—they invested billions of money into this, and the government would just stop it immediately? It’s not fair. I think the main problem here is the lack of regulation by PAGCOR. That’s what they need to improve, rather than stopping the operation when the government is greatly benefiting from it.