A raid on an illegal Philippine online gaming operator (POGO) in Cebu last week has led to the deportation of 35 Indonesian citizens who have also been blacklisted by the nation’s Bureau of Immigration.
The 35 individuals were amongst over 100 foreign nationals arrested during a raid on an illegal POGO operation running out of a resort in Barangay Agus in Lapu-Lapu City.
As is now common for raids on POGOs, the raid was coordinated together with the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC), the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), the Philippine Center on Transnational Crime and the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) – which acts under the Department of Justice.
The Manila Times quoted Immigration Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado as stating “The arrest and subsequent deportation of these foreigners send a strong message that illegal online gambling operations will not be tolerated.”
The official furthered: “We remain committed to upholding the President’s directive to ban such activities, and we will continue to work closely with other government agencies to ensure that those involved in illegal operations are brought to justice.
“Our operations will be relentless,” noted the BI official.
Legal offshore gaming operations have until December 31st to fully shutter operations, while foreign workers were given until October 15th to downgrade their visas from work visas to temporary visitor visas, permitting them to remain in the Philippines for up to 59 days.
Fugitive recovery operations are being considered by the DOJ against those who failed to downgrade their visas.
While the Philippines has taken a hard stance on offshore gaming operations, in large part due to the stigma created by illegal operators, legitimate operators are seeking new homes in more welcoming jurisdictions. This includes countries such as Vanuatu and Timor-Leste, while operators ready to handle higher costs and lower margins seek out licenses in Europe – such as in the Isle of Man, or the Caribbean – such as in Curacao.
