{"id":777006244,"date":"2023-06-14T03:06:16","date_gmt":"2023-06-14T06:06:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/?p=777006244"},"modified":"2026-04-22T21:02:01","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T00:02:01","slug":"philippines-41000-arrested-for-illegal-gambling-in-h1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/philippines-41000-arrested-for-illegal-gambling-in-h1","title":{"rendered":"Philippines: 41,000 arrested for illegal gambling in H1"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Philippine National Police (PNP) says it’s conducted 50,000 police operations against illegal gambling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

The Philippines.- The Philippine National Police (PNP)<\/strong> says that in the first half of the year, it’s arrested more than 41,000 people in 50,000 operations<\/strong>. The figures were reported by the Philippine News Agency, citing Police General Benjamin Acorda<\/strong>, the chief of the PNP. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The operations are said to have targeted unauthorised gambling, with a particular emphasis on illicit online cockfighting, known as e-Sabong. The Philippines had licensed this activity, but legal e-sabong was terminated in May 2022<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Acorda said that due to a lack of specific laws addressing online betting, authorities faced challenges enforcing regulations. However, he said the PNP was working with other agencies to coordinate efforts and take down illicit websites. Acorda highlighted collaboration with the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He added that police, regional, provincial, and district directors, police station chiefs and precinct commanders who are found to be ineffective or lacking in their efforts to stop illegal gambling in their respective jurisdictions would be relieved of their positions<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Separately, while the Philippines licences onshore and offshore gambling via PAGCOR, licensed offshore operations have also caused controversy. The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation<\/strong> (PAGCOR) has revoked the permits of several POGOs due to breaches of tax liabilities and allegations of criminal involvement<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

See also:<\/strong> PAGCOR cancels CGC accreditation for criminal activities<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Philippine National Police (PNP) says it’s conducted 50,000 police operations against illegal gambling.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":176,"featured_media":21800,"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 National Police (PNP) reported over 50,000 operations and 41,000 arrests against illegal gambling in H1, primarily targeting illicit e-Sabong. Authorities face challenges in online betting enforcement due to a lack of specific legislation, prompting inter-agency collaboration. Concurrently, PAGCOR continues to revoke permits for Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) due to tax breaches and criminal allegations, underscoring ongoing regulatory scrutiny within the licensed sector.","focusai_entities":"Philippine National Police (PNP), Philippine News Agency, Police General Benjamin Acorda, Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO), Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR), CGC","focusai_location":"The Philippines","focusai_target_profile":"ceo_executive (0.9), regulator (1.0), compliance_legal (0.9), operator_casino (0.8), payments_fraud_aml (0.8), investor_analyst (0.9), supplier_vendor (0.7), journalist_researcher (1.0)","focusai_suggestions":[{"label":"Online Betting Legislation","query":"What specific legislative reforms are being considered by the Philippine government to address the current lack of specific laws for online betting enforcement, and what is the projected timeline for their implementation?"},{"label":"POGO Regulatory Impact","query":"How will PAGCOR's continued revocation of POGO permits, citing tax liabilities and criminal involvement, impact the overall GGR contribution from the offshore gaming sector and the Philippines' standing as an iGaming hub?"}],"footnotes":""},"categories":[439,158,16333],"tags":[23911],"class_list":["post-777006244","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-legal-news","category-slider-home","category-south-east-asia-news","tag-gambling-regulation"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777006244","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=777006244"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777006244\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":777006297,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777006244\/revisions\/777006297"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21800"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=777006244"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=777006244"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=777006244"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}