Totally banning the operations of Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) in the country may result to an increase in taxes.

Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero pointed this out saying he inevitably expects the government to look for ways to offset the revenues that POGO companies bring in by raising taxes.

“If we close them down, we may have to increase taxes because we need to cover whatever revenue is lost from them,” Escudero explained during a recent press briefing at the Senate.

Escudero said he wants to “look at the bigger picture” since not all POGO companies carry a bad reputation. 

“Some are bad but government is earning; PAGCOR’s income increased by several hundred percent due to POGO,” Escudero said, referring to the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp.

“I don't believe that just because there are some bad eggs, the immediate solution is to ban them all. I don’t agree to that kind of principle and policy except when the ban covers all (gambling),” the senator said.

Nevertheless, Escudero lauded PAGCOR for giving all POGOs provisional licenses. He also noted how the state gaming regulator has been conducting surprise inspections frequently on these companies to check for any irregularities.

“It’s a good move for PAGCOR to suspend all POGOs and give them provisional licenses pending review of their operations. At the end of the review, they would know which of them would be allowed to operate,” he noted. 

“This is a good first step of PAGCOR, to give temporary licenses, pending a review of that as well,” he said.

But PAGCOR should still coordinate with law enforcement and security officials to ascertain which of these POGOs who were issued provisional licenses are complying with government rules and regulations.

“This does not mean that I will tolerate any wrong doing, or any trafficking or any violation of law. Whoever commits violations should be shut down and banned,” he stressed.