Victor Padilla of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR) says none of the country’s offshore gaming operators are owned by Chinese companies and that their services are not available to gamblers on the Chinese mainland.
Padilla made the assertions at an August budget hearing shortly after Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang asked that the country “ban all online gambling” to keep it from being accessed by Chinese players.
“No companies are operated by Chinese corporations, because mostly the corporations are offshore companies which have local companies here in the Philippines,” Padilla said, adding that of 60 licensed Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) in the country, “only” 48 are operational. But some critics of the industry say there are many more than 60.
Despite many reports to the contrary, Padilla added that POGOs do not peddle their services to any countries that prohibit gambling.
“In our manual, we do not stream in any country which prohibits online gaming or gambling,” he said. Addressing assumptions that POGOs target mainland Chinese residents, he only said, “We are sure that a lot of players are Chinese because we all know that there are a lot of Chinese people all over the world.”
Earlier this month, China also asked the government of President Rodrigo Duterte to “punish” POGOs, casinos and other forms of gaming providers that purportedly illegally hire Chinese citizens. The Chinese Embassy in Manila claims that many Chinese citizens have been recruited into the Philippine gambling industry, with some “lured into and cheated to work illegally, with only tourist visas.”
The embassy also said a “huge amount” of Chinese funds are “illegally flown out” of China and into the Philippines through cross-border money laundering, the Philippine Inquirer reported.
At a recent State of the Nation address, Duterte applauded the growth of the online gaming industry, and urged PAGCOR CEO Andrea Domingo to expand it even further. Despite that endorsement, according to Reuters, the country’s anti-money laundering body is looking at the industry to determine the impact on the economy if POGOs stopped operating.
Benjamin Diokno, governor of Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and head of the Anti-Money Laundering Council, has ordered the agency and the central bank’s financial stability team to “put some sense to this online gambling.
“What if all of a sudden they decide to pack up and leave? What will be the impact of that on the property sector, also the food industry, the restaurants? This is part of my job as BSP governor,” Diokno told an economic forum last Tuesday.
Asked if he thinks POGOs are being used as to launder money, Diokno replied, “Not necessarily.”
Also in the Philippines, PAGCOR may issue identification cards specifically for Chinese POGO workers to ensure the legality of their working visa and tax compliance, local media reports. Domingo told CNN Philippines that PAGCOR is working with government agencies on what it calls a “gaming employment license” (GEL).
Chinese POGO workers “cannot get a GEL, and they cannot work until they are properly documented by having properly, legally acquired working visa and having a BIR (tax identification number), so that they are able to pay their taxes,” she said.
According to Domingo, there are around 130,000 to 135,000 Chinese nationals employed in the gambling hubs, though some estimates more than double that figure.
