Philippine Senate President calls for online gambling review
Philippine Senate President, Francis Escudero, has called for a cost-benefit analysis of the online gambling sector in the country after concerns that inland operators are harming the local population.
Escudero has called on the regulator PAGCOR to hold a comprehensive and transparent review of Philippine Inland Gaming Operators, known as PIGOs, to determine the industry’s benefits and costs.
Online gambling has become a hot topic in the Philippines due to a ban on Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators, or POGOs, and its resulting controversies, such as sites using unofficial accreditation from PAGCOR to scam players.
However, the Senate President has recently argued that PIGOs may also contribute to the social issues previously blamed on POGOs. PIGOs offer similar online games, but to a local clientele.
The Senate President said, “We should review this because the ill effects that we want to avoid are most likely present in PIGOs, which affect only Filipinos and not foreigners.”
“We have banned POGOs, and we want to ban POGOs through law. POGOs’ markets are foreigners, and they are the ones gambling there. It’s the foreigners whose lives are getting ruined because of gambling. We’ve banned it. But we allowed PIGOs, where the gamblers are Filipinos, not foreigners. Those who are running out of money are Filipinos, not foreigners, and it’s likely that the former POGOs are hiding behind PIGOs,” he added. Escudero’s call for a review comes as the Philippine Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission announced plans in February to eliminate POGOs by the end of 2025.
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