PHILIPPINE Offshore Gaming Operators, commonly known as Pogos, offer online gambling services such as electronic casino and sports betting, among others, only to customers outside the country. Most of its clients were Chinese since gambling is generally illegal in China, except for state-run lotteries. Players make bets and receive payouts through various online financial platforms.
While Pogos began their operation in the Philippines in 2003, they went vigorous starting in 2016 when the administration of then President Rodrigo Duterte relaxed the country’s internet gambling policies with consideration to revenue and creation of more jobs for Filipinos. Before they could operate, Pogos are required to obtain a license to operate from the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor). There are three categories in which first is where dealers do online games through live streaming, while the second and third are subsectors of Business Processing Outsourcing (BPO) that focus on back-office services through an actual office space.
Pagcor said the number of licensed Pogos in the country peaked to more than 300 in 2019, generating more than P7 billion in license fees. This has also resulted in the massive arrival of Chinese nationals in the country to work in Pogo. A significant number was undocumented.
The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said that in 2019, of the over 118,000 workers of Pogo, only 21,000 were Filipinos. The Pogo industry in the country, however, experienced a setback due to the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic, which forced several firms to cease operations. The number of Filipinos working in Pogos went down between 14,000 and 16,000 from 2020 to 2022, while it bounced back to around 25,000 out of the total 66,500 employees in 2023.
Economic impact In a statement on Tuesday, July 23, 2024, Department of Finance Secretary Ralph Recto said the Pogos’ estimated total economic benefits only amounted to P166.49 billion per year, significantly lower than the estimated total economic costs of P265.74 billion annually.
This means around P99.52 billion net cost for the country each year. The economic benefits took into account government revenues, such as tax revenues from the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), as well as Gross Gaming Revenues from Pagcor, estimated income from office and residential space rentals, transportation, and the additional demand from the private consumption of employees and entities.
Indirect economic benefits, which comprised the associated economic activities, as well as government revenues earned from Pogos’ multiplier effects, were also noted. The estimated economic costs of Pogos include the undesired effects of reputational risks, which have an impact on foreign direct investments, noting that Pogo-related crimes also bring negative impact in terms of the country’s attractiveness as a tourist destination. “Apart from these, Pogos entail social costs, which are unquantifiable.
This includes the loss of life as well as physical and psychological harm to victims of criminal activities,” said Recto. “Pogo operations also affect communities by increasing fear and anxiety associated with illegal activities. Additionally, the perception that groups engaged in illegal or criminal activities wield significant economic influence in certain areas erodes institutional integrity,” he added.
Recto said that this cost-benefit analysis report, which was submitted to Marcos on June 25, 2025, was the basis of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s decision to implement a total ban of Pogo in the country. The President announced the ban during his third State of the Nation Address (Sona) on July 22, 2024.
The dark side of Pogos Marcos took note of the illicit activities of Pogos disguising as legitimate entities such as financial scamming, money laundering, prostitution, human trafficking, kidnapping, brutal torture and even murder. Over the past years, the Philippine National Police (PNP) has recorded dozens of kidnapping for ransom and torture incidents of Chinese nationals, particularly Pogo workers, by their fellow citizens. While police would exhaust their resources and efforts to resolve a case, particularly to rescue the victims, it usually does not prosper as the victims, who most of them, will refuse to pursue charges against their violators.
Crackdown Over the past years, authorities have been conducting various raids in Pogo firms; some of them have luxurious facilities, such as their own KTV bars and even unlicensed medical clinics. In March, the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) together with the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Group raided the Zun Yuan Technology Incorporated (ZYTI) in Bamban, Tarlac, following a “disturbing” report of an abused foreign national worker who was able to escape the 7.9-hectare property where the later-identified illegal Pogo is operating.
The operation resulted in the rescue of 800 employees, including around 500 foreigners, of which 427 were Chinese nationals, and the discovery of gleaming villas within the compound, valued at over P40 million each; a wine cellar; state-of-the-art kitchen and toilets; an underground bunker and a maze of tunnels; several luxury vehicles; and huge amount of cash hidden inside security vaults. The firm, which was allegedly involved in surveillance activities and hacking of government websites, had become a subject of a Senate probe, which later centered on now-suspended Bamban Mayor Alice Guo for allegedly letting the firm continue its operations despite lacking authority. Lawmakers dug deep on Guo’s real identity as the National Bureau of Investigation ruled, following a fingerprint examination, that she is one and the same person as Chinese national Guo Hua Ping.
Guo is currently in hiding after the Senate issued an arrest order against her and her family. Amid the investigation on ZYTI, police raided another illegal Pogo hub, this time in Porac, Pampanga -- the Lucky South 99. This hub was raided and shut down on September 17, 2022 also over alleged involvement in illegal activities.
The firm sits on a 10-hectare property consisting of 46 buildings and other facilities, including a golf course. At least 186 foreign and Filipino workers were apprehended from the Pogo complex, including at least four individuals who were identified as kidnap victims. Two of them were still handcuffed and full of bruises and torture marks when found by the police.
Marcos’ order was lauded by the public, as well as the lawmakers and government officials. Pogos in the country are expected to cease their operations by December 2024. (TPM/SunStar Philippines).
