Anti-POGO bill filed by lawmakers

Anti-POGO bill would ban all Offshore Gaming Operations from the country.

Philippines.- Philippine lawmakers have filed a bill labelled the Anti-POGO bill, designed to ban Philippine Offshore Gaming Operations (POGOs) from the country.

Led by House Minority Leader, Bienvenido Abante Jr., the filing of the proposed Anti-POGO Act aims to prohibit the facilitation of any offshore gaming through any means or device within the Philippine territory.

Licenses of foreign-based operators, local gaming agents, POGOs and service providers for purposes of offshore gaming operations shall be deemed withdrawn, revoked, or denied.

The bill read: “It is therefore declared by the State that ‘Philippine Offshore Gaming Operations’ or ‘POGOs’ conducted within the Philippines have increasingly become a social menace and a source of unimaginable corruption.

“It has made a mockery of our anti-money laundering, immigration and tax laws. It has been a source of untold criminal offences and heinous crimes related to the conduct of such operations.”

It was announced earlier this week that POGOs would not be entitled to any tax breaks from the Philippines government.