PHILIPPINES WANTS TO SHUT DOWN THE NIGHTMARE OF OFFSHORE GAMBLING
In a bold move that caught some of the world’s biggest gamblers off guard, the Philippine government announced it will shut down 175 offshore gambling firms (yes, you read that right—175) and deport roughly 40,000 Chinese workers next month. All as part of a crackdown on the industry’s serial mischief.
Why the sudden enforcement?
Or so the ministry spokesperson, Jose Dominic Clavano, told reporters. “The trouble started when we heard about murders, kidnappings, and other shady hits among the Chinese killed by fellow Chinese,” he said. It’s a shame you’d need to play Russian roulette to keep looking for a safe lender in a country notorious for less-than-smooth gaming rules.
From booming to busting
POGO—POGO—was a 2016 brainchild that exploded in a country with the biggest soft laws on gambling. Back then, companies pulled in 300,000 Chinese workers and patched together a rogue empire that put the Philippines on the map. But now, with higher taxes and the global pandemic, many of those big‑fish are switching shores.
License woes
In total, the POGO firms slated for closure either have expired licenses or have been revoked. They were found guilty of a handy list of offenses—non‑payment of government fees, suspicious financial flows, and the usual mysterious business activity it’s easy to see what’s going on. Needless to say, the ministry has told them the deportation process will begin next month.
The economic fallout
Despite being a playground for gamblers, the industry produced a whopping 7.2 billion pesos (or roughly S$175 million) in revenue in 2020 and formed 3.9 billion pesos of the Philippines’ GDP last year through POGO fees alone. Economists estimate that the real dollar impact—looking at workers’, fires, and office rents—drags well below visible figures.
Real estate losses
- Pruning a POGO‑free economy would leave a 1.05 million square metres of office space empty—that’s a third of the size of New York’s Central Park.
- From our home office landlord, Leechiu Property Consultants estimates 8.9 billion pesos a year reveals the costs of wasted rental leases.
- The figure also tells you how squeezing out 201,000 Chinese and 111,000 Filipino workers might learn just how much real estate and retail profits depend on these gamblers.
The numbers add up
They crunch out that POGOs inject about 190 billion pesos into the economy each year. That’s like a massive amount of parking space for the property and retail world—pointers for why even the business community is ready for this policy shift.
China’s response
In a mobile line from the Beijing embassy in Manila, the Chinese government stated they back the deportation and crackdown. They also declared that China reiterates its own anti‑gambling stance against the Philippine situation.
Final note
Philippine regulators with their latest numbers suggest that the number of licensed firms slipped from 60 to 30 since the pandemic, a testament that the government is serious about cutting the POGO frenzy. Official sees “We are about to demolish this shady playground,” said a Representative (unavailable for comment today).
More things to keep an eye on
Don’t forget the associated article about protecting Chinese citizens amid kidnapping, and the entire conversation around Philippines–China relationship with gambling at the center.
