Pagcor: Foreign syndicates, not POGOs, pose biggest threat
The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) said the real risk to national security emanates from foreign hacking and scam syndicates, not from legitimate and licensed offshore gaming operations (POGOs).
In a statement, Alejandro H. Tengco, Pagcor chairman and chief executive officer said legitimate Internet Gaming Licensees (IGLs) helped fund government, contributing more than P5 billion to the agency’s gross revenues in 2023.
“To us, the real threat is the alien hacking and scam syndicates who operate underground, and they are the ones that our law enforcement agencies are trying to locate and dismantle,” Tengco said. “And we are cooperating fully with the authorities in this regard.”
The Pagcor chief urged the public to report any suspicious foreign activities in their neighborhoods, noting that these criminal syndicates are typically armed and pose a significant threat.
“We should not blame and demonize our licensed gaming operators because these are closely monitored by Pagcor,” he said. “Our licensees pay taxes, and they help provide legitimate jobs and livelihood to a lot of people.”
He said that Pagcor has embedded monitoring teams in the physical venues of all licensed gaming operators, including land-based casinos, to ensure compliance with the terms of their licenses.
Those found violating the provisions of their licenses are meted fines and penalties and, in the most serious offenses, the licenses are revoked and their bonds forfeited, Tengco said.
“We do not need to outlaw POGOs; what we need to do is intensify anti-crime operations against suspected alien hackers, against scammers and cyber-criminals who are usually hiding in highly secured buildings and compounds,” he said.
“These criminal syndicates are not engaged in offshore gaming at all, and even if they are, they are doing it illegally. So they are the real threat, and we must go after them with everything that we have,” the Pagcor chief noted.
Last Friday, Finance Secretary Ralph Recto said that many unscrupulous businesses identifying as POGOs are, in fact, not legitimate POGOs.
“Today, there are a lot of POGOs that are not really POGOs because they are doing something else. But we generalize and call all of them POGOs,” Recto told reporters.