ASPAP: separate registered and illegal POGOs
ASPAP has called on the government to distinguish more carefully between registered and illegal operators.
Philippines.- Margarita Gutierrez, spokesperson for the Accredited Service Providers Association of Pagcor (ASPAP) has asked local politicians to carefully distinguish between correctly registered Philippine online gaming operators (POGOs) and clandestine operators.
She fears legislators have created a negative public opinion towards gaming firms through statements made demanding POGOs to pay long standing tax debts.
In the first quarter of 2020, duly accredited POGOs paid P1.8 billion (US$36.3 million) in regulatory fees, the Philippine Information Agency reported.
ASPAP says the departure of some of these firms from the local market would leave a hole in the domestic economy.
The association also says that POGOs spent P25 billion (US$504.4 million) in leaseholds and rentals, for which they also pay taxes, and employ 31,556 Filipinos.
The Bureau of Internal Revenue has estimated it should be receiving about P20 billion (USD399million) per year from POGOs, while companies paid little over P6 billion in 2019.
