Illegal gambling in the Philippines: PAOCC warns of former gaming workers running scam farms

AOCC spokesman Winston John Casio described the situation as a “ticking time bomb.”

The Philippines.- The Philippine Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) has raised concerns about Filipinos previously employed by offshore gaming operators allegedly operating scam farms. During a radio interview, PAOCC spokesman Winston John Casio, described the situation as a “ticking time bomb.”

Casio said the farms mainly primarily focus on online shopping scams. He said: “You place an order, say a device, but you get a substandard product or a second-hand one. Worse, you don’t get anything. Our authorities have already dismantled some scammers perpetrating these activities. Some even hold an online raffle. Most of these Filipinos are veterans or alumni of offshore gaming operators that we have raided.”

Casio warned that due to the lack of time to build credible cases, the PAOCC was releasing people with warnings. In September, Patrick Patriwirawan Jr., a director of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), said that, according to data provided by the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR), 40,962 Filipino workers will be affected by the closure of offshore gaming operators by the end of the year. 

See also: Alleged offshore gaming boss arrested in Laguna

Suspended Porac mayor faces graft charges

The PAOCC and the Philippine National Police (PNP) have lodged complaints of graft against Jaime Capil, the suspended mayor of Porac, Pampanga, and ten other local officials before the Department of Justice (DOJ). They accuse the officials of links to illegal offshore gaming operators.

The other officials were named as vice mayor Francis Laurence Tamayo, Emerald Vital, the officer-in-charge of the town’s Business Permit and Licensing Office (BPLO), and eight others. They have been accused of violating Section 3(e), (f), and (j) of Republic Act 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.

The charges were filed in connection with the operations of Lucky South 99, an illegal offshore gaming operator raided last June. The respondents were accused of expediting the approval of permits for the company from 2021 to 2023 despite incomplete and blank application forms. They allegedly neglected to act on law enforcement reports regarding purported criminal activities, such as human trafficking, occurring at the raided offshore gaming operator.