POGO ban to affect 22,000 Filipinos

The Philippine Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) announced that around 22,000 Filipinos working for legal offshore gaming operators in the Metro Manila region might lose their jobs if the country bans online gaming companies.

Labor Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma made these remarks on Thursday during a television interview, addressing ongoing calls for the government to ban the formerly named Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO).

In July last year, the nation’s gaming regulator, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp (PAGCOR), approved new regulations for POGOs, now referred to as “Internet Gaming Licensees” (IGL).

Mr. Laguesma noted that his department was taking the necessary steps to support affected workers if the government bans offshore gaming operators.

“We face a big challenge or problem if the operations of legitimate POGO firms close, as it will affect the employment of some workers,” Mr. Laguesma said, as cited by the Manila Standard newspaper.

Official data shows that from January to April this year, around 8,000 alien employment permits were issued to foreign workers employed by licensed IGLs in the country. Most of these foreign workers were Vietnamese and Chinese,” said Mr. Laguesma.

The Department of Labor and Employment also vowed to tighten its screening of foreigners applying for permits to work in the country’s offshore gaming sector.

Mr. Laguesma’s comments came amid some campaigning to ban offshore gaming operators in the country, following recent raids against some companies operating in the nation.

The Chinese embassy in Manila recently called for a ban on Philippine offshore operators, stating that they were “detrimental to both Philippine and Chinese interests,” as well as to “China-Philippines relations.”

Pagcor recently converted 13 provisional IGL permits to full ones, bringing the total number of IGL permit holders allowed to offer gaming to customers offshore to 40, according to a review by GGRAsia of materials issued by the regulator.

In late May, Philippine Senator Sherwin Gatchalian filed a bill seeking to outlaw the operations of offshore gaming operators in the country. It remains to see whether POGO operations will still remain in the Philippines but this would not affect online gaming for the Philippine market since they target offshore clients.

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