Have you played with the POGO?

[Eternad]

There's not much information shared about how to play POGO. However, there should be a website that players need to visit in order to play, just like a regular casino where we can see if they cater to our country, so we would know if we can play or not. All we know is that POGO is linked to money laundering as its biggest issue. Aside from that, we have no idea how to access it to at least try and see if it does really restrict the locals from playing.

Most of the POGO is dedicated only for Chinese citizens which they usually use for different sketchy business such as money laundering, human trafficking, drugs and other illegal activities which Chinese hide in the Philippines since we have much lousy laws in when it comes to criminal offenses compared to China which this offense will lead to death penalty depending on the seriousness of the crime.

There’s no much information for the local since we are not allowed to enter. Only Filipino dealers are allowed to enter while most of the player is Chinese.

[stompix]

What the hell is this mess?
https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/7/22/marcos-jr-orders-pogos-to-cease-operations-by-end-of-year-1603

If those are offshore websites and companies, how do they raid them?
If those were not licensed why not simply ban access and stop payments to them, it's not like it's something magical, we have done this pretty easy in Europe, you can have websites that operate totally legally in Germany and Denmark banned in France and Portugal like bet365.

Besides, this is a bit weird:

In his speech, Marcos slammed POGOs for engaging in activities “farthest from gaming, such as financial scamming, money laundering, prostitution, human trafficking, kidnapping, brutal torture, even murder.”

I fail to understand how online gaming can be the cause of that and not loan sharks in the first place.

From a financial aspect, POGO brings in billions of pesos to the Philippines through taxes, so it's hard to let this go.

This is a moot point, if people would not spend money on games they would spend it on something else that also generates taxes and employment, unless you're able to quantify this precisely it's not really an argument.

[BABY SHOES]

This is the first time I've heard of the POGO game... but someone has explained what POGO is above so I understand a bit now.

So playing in POGO is only for certain people who have privillage? And local people can't play here, but there's a bigger action behind it including the laundering?

[Wapfika]

POGO has been a hot issue in the Philippines recently due to crimes related to its operation. I was surprised to learn that there was already a documentary about this three years ago, but the government seemed not to have taken the right action. Now, it seems they are considering banning the operation due to the mentioned reasons.

The POGO has already been banned, the president of the Philippines has announced it on his SONA
Marcos bans Pogo, cites ‘disorder’ it caused PH

Just recently browse this news when this topic was created. The ban of POGO doesn’t create much noise because it’s announced via the president SONA which is kinda boring to watch due to his incompetency since he started his terms.

I’m surprised for the total ban instead of just regulating it properly since it generates huge profit for the government banning it is such a waste because there’s a lot of Filipino employee will be affected. Surely the Philippines government is just pleasing the community without thinking the repercussions of their actions.

This is the first time I've heard of the POGO game... but someone has explained what POGO is above so I understand a bit now.

So playing in POGO is only for certain people who have privillage? And local people can't play here, but there's a bigger action behind it including the laundering?

POGO is not a game. It’s just a terminology for Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators which is a casino provider in our country dedicated for foreign players mostly Chinese.

It’s shady because Chinese use this operation to hide underlying illegal operations of foreigners. In short, A black market cover casino.

[Hispo]

I don't think I have been in a position in which I have the necessity to play casinos games from an Asian provider, though. I mostly stick to casinos registered in Curaçao and have their own original Dices, Plinko, crash and blackjack. Though, when comes to the few Sportbetting I get involved in, I am not sure whether the market I am getting into have anything to do with asian ones. I think not.

In regards of the situation going on in the Philippines, it could be a good temporary solution, but since the demand for liquidity will co time to exist, the Chinese people who are involved with shady businesses will find a way to continue to access to casinos and bookies, even if they need to go underground un order to do so.
Also, I did not know the crime syndicate in mainland China was so big, to the point they could actively influence on the gambling market of a foreign country like Philippines.

[robelneo]

I'm glad that POGO is finally banned. I'm sure President Marcos has seen the data, and he concluded that it's not contributing enough to ignore the bad effects on society. Imagine the POGO investigation by the Senate has been going on for two months, and there are so many speculations. Because of POGO, we have seen so many Chinese faking their birth certificates so they can run for local office.

So many corrupt practices have been exposed because of this POGO investigation, so it's just right that they ban it, and based on the investigation, some POGOs are actually scam hubs.

[CryptoHeadlineNews]

So question is, have you played with these casinos before. They have this live dealers which are also available in other casinos that are popular in the forum, I'm thinking maybe they are providing those.

This is actually my first time hearing of the name "POGO" as a casino, as it seems it's only popular in China and the Philippines, just as said in the YouTube video link provided above. However, it's just said to know that a casino such has this has been into fraudulent acts for many years and yet the government seems to have done nothing simply because they are benefiting billions of pesos through tax revenue generated. And as it stands now, the only people that could put this menace into a permanent end is only the government, because casino operators are meant to be a offered a transparent means of gambling, and not stand as a vessel of fear while many will want to skip gambling due to it's lack of proper regulations, offering gamblers the safety of their funds.

[xLays]

What surprised me the most after this announcement is that most of the online casinos I use notified all their players that they're not affected by this POGO ban. Well, I don't know if they're related to POGO. 747, Winzir, Bet88.ph, BingoPlus— all of these casinos announced that they're not affected by this POGO ban. Can someone give me a list of known POGO sites affected by this ban?

I hope this isn't just talk in the State of the Nation Address (SONA) and they will actually work on it. If someone is paid off, the issue might return after a year. I think the ban on POGO won't happen if Marcos fall out with Duterte.

[serjent05]

POGO has been a hot issue in the Philippines recently due to crimes related to its operation. I was surprised to learn that there was already a documentary about this three years ago, but the government seemed not to have taken the right action. Now, it seems they are considering banning the operation due to the mentioned reasons.

This kind of government decision is a sign that the authorities can't stop the illegal activities of POGOs.  The president intervening for the decision whether POGO should be banned or moderated is a clear indication that the authorities charge in regulating the gambling activity of the Philippines is incompetent.

From a financial aspect, POGO brings in billions of pesos to the Philippines through taxes, so it's hard to let this go. However, these crimes are no longer tolerable, and they have tarnished the country's reputation. There are also rumors that other countries, particularly China, have sent spies to the Philippines since POGO is operated by Chinese people.

This should be blamed on the corrupt officials that taken a blind eyes on these illegal activities.  I doubt that the office in charge of gambling activity does not know about these illegal POGOs.  It is more likely that they are amassing millions of pesos taking a blind eye or protecting these criminals.

So question is, have you played with these casinos before. They have this live dealers which are also available in other casinos that are popular in the forum, I'm thinking maybe they are providing those.

No, as to my memory, I have not played in any casinos (specifically POGO) licensed by the Philippines since I was exposed to the casino licensed by Curacao and has put more trust on these reputable casinos than those POGOs.

[Potato Chips]

What surprised me the most after this announcement is that most of the online casinos I use notified all their players that they're not affected by this POGO ban. Well, I don't know if they're related to POGO. 747, Winzir, Bet88.ph, BingoPlus— all of these casinos announced that they're not affected by this POGO ban. Can someone give me a list of known POGO sites affected by this ban?

Perhaps because those casinos service the filipino locals? While POGOs operate in the Philippines, they only service people outside the country who are for the most part the chinese market. I would image casinos for the locals and POGOs may have different license or prerequisite/s to operate.

If those are offshore websites and companies, how do they raid them?

I guess the raids were about those which have offices in the Philippines. It appears they have occupied a good amount of space.

Property consultancy firm Leechiu Property Consultants (LPC) reported that POGOs vacated a total of 630,000 square meters (6,800,000 sq ft) of office space from 2020 to third quarter of 2022. LPC reported that POGOs still occupy 1,000,000 square meters (11,000,000 sq ft) of office space as of October 2022; its complete exit would result in estimated ₱18.9 billion in lost annual office rentals.

I'm assuming there could be unreported cases as well.

[GreatArkansas]

I believe the games of POGO in the Philippines are from random providers that you can see on different gambling platforms.
The people behind this are just providing games to different gambling platforms.
I believe the foreigners taking advantage of Filipino workers as you can give cheap salaries to some Filipinos to work in this field, the rents. And some foreigners do it in the Philippines because it's banned from their country.

The downside is that a lot of criminal activities are happening in this market, especially some that are not legally documented.

[Wexnident]

POGO has been a hot issue in the Philippines recently due to crimes related to its operation. I was surprised to learn that there was already a documentary about this three years ago, but the government seemed not to have taken the right action. Now, it seems they are considering banning the operation due to the mentioned reasons.

From a financial aspect, POGO brings in billions of pesos to the Philippines through taxes, so it's hard to let this go. However, these crimes are no longer tolerable, and they have tarnished the country's reputation. There are also rumors that other countries, particularly China, have sent spies to the Philippines since POGO is operated by Chinese people.

You can watch this documentary, The Deadly World Of Philippines' Offshore Gambling Syndicates | Undercover Asia | CNA Documentary

So question is, have you played with these casinos before. They have this live dealers which are also available in other casinos that are popular in the forum, I'm thinking maybe they are providing those.

Pretty sure it became so big because one of the officials of the city where the POGO raid happened was seemingly involved in the running of that POGO. It became a really big thing because of how said official seemingly has an unknown background and stuff (and was able to run as mayor for that city, surprisingly) and, well, that became big, so the POGO issue also became big.

As for playing in Pogos, no, have only played in online casinos so I don't think I have. 

I’m surprised for the total ban instead of just regulating it properly since it generates huge profit for the government banning it is such a waste because there’s a lot of Filipino employee will be affected. Surely the Philippines government is just pleasing the community without thinking the repercussions of their actions.

Ig it was because they couldn't manage it. I'm personally down to managing gambling itself, but they tried, and the recent crackdowns showed that, well, they suck at it. And with the issues of illegal crimes happening in said pogos, I don't think them trying to improve its "management" would be something people would trust or agree with really.

[Baofeng]

Since I'm from the Philippines, I think I could have played in POGO many times. We have local wallets like Gcash and Paymaya that you can directly go and gamble and most likely it will pointed out to local POGO with live dealers as they are all Filipinos.

But in any case though, latest news is that the government is putting a total ban on POGO. And now the authorities are raiding every POGO in the country because they are looking for the big head, not just one mayor who recently being under investigated by the Senate.

[Samlucky O]

So question is, have you played with these casinos before. They have this live dealers which are also available in other casinos that are popular in the forum, I'm thinking maybe they are providing those.

I am sure not to had played on this site because I am pretty not a freak to be attracted on new gambling opportunities.

Even if I must gamble on new or strange sites, it must be by one on one recommendation and not as one of the running online ADs.
Apparently the POGO is totally a strange related to gambling to me.

Yea Pogo gambling is strange to me also, I don't even know it's also use for gambling. though I have played pogo Scrabble game but I believe it to be a game of fun but not a gambling game. Well any game can be used for gambling depending on individual. The aspect of recommendation I agree with you because there are thousands of games online like the way new shitcoin and altcoin are flooding the crypto market which you wouldn't know the one to buy. So I prefer going for the one I know its easier for me which is the football betting game.

[peter0425]

POGO has been a hot issue in the Philippines recently due to crimes related to its operation. I was surprised to learn that there was already a documentary about this three years ago, but the government seemed not to have taken the right action. Now, it seems they are considering banning the operation due to the mentioned reasons.

It’s already officially declared banned.

https://edition.cnn.com/2024/07/23/asia/philippines-pogos-ban-illegal-gambling-intl-hnk/index.html

From a financial aspect, POGO brings in billions of pesos to the Philippines through taxes, so it's hard to let this go. However, these crimes are no longer tolerable, and they have tarnished the country's reputation. There are also rumors that other countries, particularly China, have sent spies to the Philippines since POGO is operated by Chinese people.

I don’t think the money is worth allowing such operations to happen in the country. Back then before it was allowed to operate, many politicians thought that it wasn’t wise to let POGOs operate in the country but alas those in favor prevailed and now this is what happened.

So question is, have you played with these casinos before. They have this live dealers which are also available in other casinos that are popular in the forum, I'm thinking maybe they are providing those.

No. I am guessing a lot of big and powerful names are the clients of these operations. Maybe some associated with government officials, maybe not from the country but from outside of it. After all, the suspended mayor and now hiding, Alice Guo, was associated with POGO with billions of money entering her bank accounts.

This news is more than about the POGO itself. There seem to be cases of identity theft and spy accusations which is really bothering for the government considering the territorial fight the Philippines has with China.

[cryptomaniac_xxx]

Besides, this is a bit weird:

In his speech, Marcos slammed POGOs for engaging in activities “farthest from gaming, such as financial scamming, money laundering, prostitution, human trafficking, kidnapping, brutal torture, even murder.”

I fail to understand how online gaming can be the cause of that and not loan sharks in the first place.

For financial scamming - pandemic hits, perhaps their income was not as it used to be, and so the Chinese who is known to execute pig butchering scam.

Prostitution - Some POGO offices are being used as a front for prostitution den

Kidnapping, brutal torture, murder - they even kidnap their own people in the Philippines who can't pay the money they have loan. There are reports that they threaten them and then they call their relatives in China to raise money. If they can't raise money, then they torture and even killed them.

So in short, POGO being used as front by the Chinese in the Philippines and very well using the country as their hub.

[CryptSafe]

Now, it seems they are considering banning the operation due to the mentioned reasons.

From a financial aspect, POGO brings in billions of pesos to the Philippines through taxes, so it's hard to let this go.

OP, I would like to say that there is every possibility that you would not get an honest answer based on you comment and post made here where you have made mention of the Chinese government sending spy to the Philippines to spy on them. People would think otherwise for mentioning that and would not say anything about your questions but can or would only make a general statement.

Looking at the Philippines, we all know that the nation has nothing to hold onto as a source of revenue generation for them and as a result they do not attract foreign nationals to their country.  Casinos have been a major source of revenue generation for the country and with this singular reason, I think it would be very difficult for the Philippines government to ban POGO irrespective of the fact that it is a Chinese owned company.

The government can only implement some policies to checkmating the activities of POGO so as to further prevent unwanted nuisance in the society as a reason of their activities in the country. Closing POGO would definitely increase the problems because people would be relieved of their jobs, no revenue for the government which would reduce or affect their national budget, the rate of crime would increase and lots more. I believe the government would act wisely to protect her interest first not minding the Chinese government interference because if they take any drastic decision, they would have themselves to blame.

[Peanutswar]

After the online gambling casino became trend there's is a lot of social media influencers promoting their different casino is some are regulated by the government and one of these is the POGOs I've seen tons of people still keep playing because of the videos fed by them by these streamers that they can instantly win in those casinos  games, personally I didn't play at all because I know the risk and we know that not all the time we have the faith and luck in playing casino I keep doing stick with the crypto casino that I've been knew for a long time than taking risk to bind my socials, and of course in PH the e-wallet they bind into those account.

Looking at the Philippines, we all know that the nation has nothing to hold onto as a source of revenue generation for them and as a result they do not attract foreign nationals to their country.  Casinos have been a major source of revenue generation for the country and with this singular reason, I think it would be very difficult for the Philippines government to ban POGO irrespective of the fact that it is a Chinese owned company.

Actually with the poor government is the reason I don't know why people keep doing a vote to those who does not have a potential just having a backer so they can easily sit and manipulate those regulations and those POGO's can operate freely.

[Yatsan]

Hard to tell actually which is which but most likely yes I have plaayed with one of the games they are providing especially with fiat based casinos. There's nothing wrong with how they provide gambling games and services but operational activities are the bottomline here. I also agree with how big its contribution with the mentioned country's economy and that's really a loss to them as well. But for sure they came up with this conclusion because of the crime rate relaated with POGOs in particular with violent incidents concerning their workers. Has been long existing actually, and was just being considered because of taxes.

Now, it seems they are considering banning the operation due to the mentioned reasons.

From a financial aspect, POGO brings in billions of pesos to the Philippines through taxes, so it's hard to let this go.

OP, I would like to say that there is every possibility that you would not get an honest answer based on you comment and post made here where you have made mention of the Chinese government sending spy to the Philippines to spy on them. People would think otherwise for mentioning that and would not say anything about your questions but can or would only make a general statement.

Looking at the Philippines, we all know that the nation has nothing to hold onto as a source of revenue generation for them and as a result they do not attract foreign nationals to their country.  Casinos have been a major source of revenue generation for the country and with this singular reason, I think it would be very difficult for the Philippines government to ban POGO irrespective of the fact that it is a Chinese owned company.

The government can only implement some policies to checkmating the activities of POGO so as to further prevent unwanted nuisance in the society as a reason of their activities in the country. Closing POGO would definitely increase the problems because people would be relieved of their jobs, no revenue for the government which would reduce or affect their national budget, the rate of crime would increase and lots more. I believe the government would act wisely to protect her interest first not minding the Chinese government interference because if they take any drastic decision, they would have themselves to blame.

I doubt as well with complete restriction and prohibition of its operation. Most likely the government is eyeing for higher taxes and regulation for such kind of business. Well, we do know how things are working in the Philippines; almost everything could be paid.

[stompix]

If those are offshore websites and companies, how do they raid them?

I guess the raids were about those which have offices in the Philippines. It appears they have occupied a good amount of space.

Property consultancy firm Leechiu Property Consultants (LPC) reported that POGOs vacated a total of 630,000 square meters (6,800,000 sq ft) of office space from 2020 to third quarter of 2022. LPC reported that POGOs still occupy 1,000,000 square meters (11,000,000 sq ft) of office space as of October 2022; its complete exit would result in estimated ₱18.9 billion in lost annual office rentals.

I'm assuming there could be unreported cases as well.

Office space? Or it also commercial space because here in Europe we differentiate between that and the 1 million number would be insane, that would be half of what's available in Prague for offices, and at the same time it's an average of $300/sqm, that's closer to Belgium averages.
I think they obviously inflate those numbers, it simply can't be real.

Then we have this:

In October 2019, an estimated 470,000 people were employed in the POGO industry
In May 2019, there were 138,000 foreigners employed by POGOs,
 Only 17 percent of those employed in POGOs are Filipino nationals.

No matter how I take those numbers,  they don't make an ounce of sense.

Besides, this is a bit weird:

In his speech, Marcos slammed POGOs for engaging in activities “farthest from gaming, such as financial scamming, money laundering, prostitution, human trafficking, kidnapping, brutal torture, even murder.”

I fail to understand how online gaming can be the cause of that and not loan sharks in the first place.

For financial scamming - pandemic hits, perhaps their income was not as it used to be, and so the Chinese who is known to execute pig butchering scam.
Prostitution - Some POGO offices are being used as a front for prostitution den
Kidnapping, brutal torture, murder - they even kidnap their own people in the Philippines who can't pay the money they have loan. There are reports that they threaten them and then they call their relatives in China to raise money. If they can't raise money, then they torture and even killed them.

So in short, POGO being used as front by the Chinese in the Philippines and very well using the country as their hub.

Hmm, it becomes even weirder with more details
I thought those were only for foreigners, so they restricted Filipinos from it, so why would then citizens be involved...
At the same time, to be honest, I wouldn't care what foreigners do with their own if the Chinese have a beef with Chinese loan sharks and ask people in China to pay up, it's their goddamn problem, not mine, it's not about racism or anything, but if I were to see on street two foreign drug dealers killing each other over money I would say two problems solved.