PAGCOR denies ordering immediate shutdown of offshore gaming operators

PAGCOR says the order is fake.

The Philippines.- The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) has issued a statement saying that a memo dated July 26 that ordered local government units (LGUs) to terminate the operations of offshore gaming operators by August is fake.

Attorney Jessa Mariz Fernandez, head of PAGCOR’s offshore gaming licensing department, said the memo sent to LGUs in Metro Manila was a manipulated version of an earlier memorandum issued on July 23, the day after a ban was announced. She said the president’s directive allows operations to continue until the end of the year and said the disinformation was an attempt “to create chaos and confusion.”

She said: “Whoever is behind this clearly has ulterior motives, and we shall ask the National Bureau of Investigation to investigate and unmask them to determine their motives.”

Fernandez added: “We reiterate, and we advise our LGUs, that licensed IGLs can continue operating until we have determined the process of winding down their operations, which we currently have not yet finalized.”

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