The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR) promises to crack down on illegal online gaming operators who are fraudulently displaying its logo.
Last week, the regulator said the Philippine National Police, the National Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Information and Communication Technology have been charged with investigating illicit sites and their use of the familiar trademark, meant to falsely assure users that they’re dealing with legitimate providers.
PACGOR noted a “proliferation” of websites using the logo without permission to “mislead the public that their activities are connected with licensed offshore gaming in the Philippines.”
“So far, we have been able to shut down most of these illicit websites,” said PAGCOR Chairman and CEO Alejandro Tengco. “But some of them are able to immediately create new ones, so we really need the public’s cooperation and vigilance to help us weed out these scammers.”
According to GGRAsia, Tengco said the agency may also work with electronic payment companies to intercept and block illegal transactions,” which has been done with some success in in the U.S. and Singapore.
“In coordination with the National Telecommunications Commission, we will also continue to follow up on illegal sites that have not been blocked or taken down,” he added. “Another option is to create a landing site to redirect bettors to a website that will warn them about illegal sites that they are accessing.”
Such sites “may pose risks to your personal and financial information,” he warned the public. To ensure they’re dealing with regulated sites, he advised people to view a list of authorized Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) on the PAGCOR site and also “immediately report any illegal offshore gaming operations.”
