Alejandro Tengco stated that up to 14 business-to-business (B2B) services companies licensed by the Philippines but working with overseas online gaming operators should be exempt from the country’s online offshore gaming business ban. He mentioned that these businesses employ over 9,000 Filipinos.
Tengco, head of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp (PAGCOR), told ABS-CBN News that these companies, categorized under the Business Processing Outsourcing (BPO) sector, do not directly engage in gambling.
Instead, Tengco explained, the BPOs offer support services to gaming companies based in Australia, Canada, Europe, and the United States. He clarified that these businesses are not classified as gaming licensees.
On July 22, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. announced that Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs), now called Internet Gaming Licensees (IGLs), must cease operations in the country by year-end.
However, Tengco argued that the existing BPOs serving overseas gaming companies, along with six companies applying for BPO permits, should be spared. “Aside from the 12 or 14 [BPO] licensees as of today, we have another six applicants,” he noted.
Tengco planned to propose this exemption in upcoming meetings with members of the Philippine cabinet and mentioned he had already discussed the issue with President Marcos.
Tengco also acknowledged that if politicians believe the exemption could be exploited to mask IGLs, he would respect their decision. He highlighted that the primary challenge would be enforcement once the offshore gaming providers wind down, as some companies previously stripped of their licenses continue to operate illegally.
Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, a critic of offshore gaming operators, expressed concerns about Tengco’s proposed exemption for certain BPOs in a separate ABS-CBN News interview. “There’s a fine line between these service providers for gaming companies and actual gaming companies,” the senator stated. “We don’t want a scenario where we allow that [exception for certain BPOs] but [they] eventually morph into a gaming company.”
President Marcos has instructed relevant public agencies to support Filipino workers who will be displaced by the offshore online gaming sector ban.
As of July 16, PAGCOR reported 38 IGL permit holders offering gaming to offshore customers and seven provisional licensees, with 43 licensees currently operational.
Tengco informed a Philippine Senate hearing that all 43 Internet gaming licenses affected by the ban employ over 31,000 Filipino workers, while outsourcing firms holding special licenses employ around 8,000 to 9,000 Filipino nationals. He added that about 31,000 foreign workers would be impacted by the closure of all 43 licensed Internet gaming operators.
This still has no effect on online gaming for the Philippine market since POGO/IGL cater to offshore or foreign clients.