{"id":27116,"date":"2022-02-09T11:10:26","date_gmt":"2022-02-09T14:10:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/?p=27116"},"modified":"2026-04-23T11:28:21","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T14:28:21","slug":"pogos-could-see-a-rebound-following-easing-of-covid-19-restrictions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/pogos-could-see-a-rebound-following-easing-of-covid-19-restrictions","title":{"rendered":"POGOs could see a rebound following easing of Covid-19 restrictions"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

According to David Leechiu, president of Leechiu Property Consultants, there could be a rebound in the activity of Philippine offshore gaming operators as mobility restrictions ease.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

The Philippines.- Following an exodus due to the Covid-19 pandemic and tax pressure, some expect that Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs)\u00a0<\/strong>could make a return to the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

David Leechiu, <\/strong>president of Leechiu Property Consultants, told local media that his company is close to signing its first major real estate deal for a POGO operator in two years. He predicts that this could be the starting point for a rebound in activity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said the sector could receive a boost from the announcement that\u00a0the country will reopen its borders to international tourists<\/a>\u00a0who have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19 from February 10. The POGO industry employs a large number of expatriate workers from mainland China and Asia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before the Covid-19 pandemic, POGOs were a major force in Manila’s commercial real estate market, but the industry has since freed up about 500,000 square meters of space.\u00a0New POGO taxes<\/a>, regulatory uncertainty and a crackdown on visa regulations led to an exodus of online operators, a situation aggravated by the Covid-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From September 2021, POGOs have had to pay\u00a05 per cent tax on their gross gaming revenue<\/strong>. Service providers must pay a 25 per cent income tax.\u00a0According to PAGCOR\u2019s website, the\u00a0number of POGO licence holders that are currently operating is just 41.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

According to David Leechiu, president of Leechiu Property Consultants, there could be a rebound in the activity of Philippine offshore gaming operators as mobility restrictions ease.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":176,"featured_media":18526,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"is_press_release":false,"is_interview":false,"is_opinion":false,"focusai_summary":"The Philippine offshore gaming operator (POGO) sector anticipates a potential rebound, driven by eased mobility restrictions and the country's border reopening to vaccinated international tourists. This follows a significant exodus of operators due to pandemic-related disruptions, new tax impositions including a 5% GGR tax, and regulatory uncertainties, which severely impacted Manila's commercial real estate market. Leechiu Property Consultants notes renewed interest, signaling a possible recovery for the industry.","focusai_entities":"David Leechiu, Leechiu Property Consultants, Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs), PAGCOR","focusai_location":"Philippines, Manila, China, Asia","focusai_target_profile":"ceo_executive (0.9), regulator (0.95), compliance_legal (0.9), operator_casino (0.9), investor_analyst (0.9), supplier_vendor (0.85), journalist_researcher (0.9)","focusai_suggestions":[{"label":"POGO Regulatory Evolution","query":"What specific regulatory and fiscal policy adjustments, beyond the 5% GGR tax, are being contemplated by the Philippine government to foster a more stable and predictable operating environment for POGOs, thereby mitigating future capital flight risks?"},{"label":"Commercial Real Estate Impact","query":"Given the historical volatility of the POGO sector, what are the long-term implications for Manila's commercial real estate market, particularly regarding the re-absorption of the 500,000 square meters of vacated space, and what risk mitigation strategies are property consultants advising?"}],"footnotes":""},"categories":[157,158,16333],"tags":[15789],"class_list":["post-27116","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business-news","category-slider-home","category-south-east-asia-news","tag-pogos"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27116","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/176"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27116"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27116\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27125,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27116\/revisions\/27125"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18526"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27116"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27116"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27116"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}