Philippines DOJ warns foreign offshore gaming workers who are still in the country

The Bureau of Immigration has revealed some 11,000 foreign offshore gaming workers remain in the country.

The Philippines.- The Department of Justice (DOJ) has warned that foreign offshore gaming workers who are still in the country will face serious legal issues.

On Sunday (January 5), justice secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said the Bureau of Immigration (BI) found that about 11,000 foreign offshore gaming workers are still in the Philippines, despite president Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr’s ban on offshore gaming operators that entered force on December 31, 2024.

According to Remulla, those workers who are still in the country are people who did not downgrade their visas or leave the Philippines last year, as well as those who downgraded their visas but missed the deadline.

To address this, the BI has increased efforts to locate and deport these workers. Remulla said: “The President is unequivocally clear that offshore gaming operators have no place here in the Philippines and we vow to give our all-out support for the sake and welfare of the Filipino people.

“This administration stands firm in its resolve to intensify its guerilla operations against non-compliant offshore gaming operators.”

See also: 34 deported for alleged illegal gambling in the Philippines