{"id":777019689,"date":"2024-10-08T09:42:06","date_gmt":"2024-10-08T12:42:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/?p=777019689"},"modified":"2026-04-22T05:23:46","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T08:23:46","slug":"over-10000-foreign-offshore-gaming-workers-in-the-philippines-downgrade-visas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/over-10000-foreign-offshore-gaming-workers-in-the-philippines-downgrade-visas","title":{"rendered":"Over 10,000 foreign offshore gaming workers in the Philippines downgrade visas"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Foreign offshore gaming workers have until October 15 to voluntarily downgrade their visas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Philippines.-  <strong>The Bureau of Immigration (BI)<\/strong>\u00a0reported on Monday (October 7) that over 10,000 foreign workers employed by\u00a0offshore gaming operators\u00a0have filed for a downgrade of their visas. The deadline to downgrade voluntarily is October 15. From October 16, the visas of foreign offshore gaming workers will be changed to tourist visas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">BI officer-in-charge commissioner\u00a0<strong>Joel Anthony Viado<\/strong> warned that if workers do not leave the country before December 31, the BI will commence deportation proceedings. He said procedures have been simplified to ensure compliance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Viado mentioned that the BI, in collaboration with the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR), held a briefing on September 30 with offshore gaming company representatives. During the briefing, the BI indicated the possibility of conducting implementation days for these companies, during which the agency could implement downgraded visa status and issue exit clearances onsite.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Viado also mentioned the presence of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE)&nbsp;representatives during these service days to receive surrendered Alien Employment Permits from offshore gaming workers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On September 18, the DOLE announced that it will hold&nbsp;<a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/philippines-dole-to-hold-job-fair-for-former-offshore-gaming-workers\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">a job fair for workers<\/a> who have been displaced from IGLs at the Ayala Malls Manila Bay on October 10. Some 70 employers are expected to take part. The DOLE is also giving financial support of up to PHP30,000 (US$535.80) to help impacted employees establish a small business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Philippines warns offshore gaming operators may move to Timor-Leste<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In a state visit, justice secretary<strong>&nbsp;Jesus Crispin Remulla<\/strong>&nbsp;and officials from the Department of Justice (DOJ) warned about reports suggesting that Timor Leste could be a destinations for gambling operators leaving the Philippines due to the incoming ban. The DOJ said it alerted Timor Leste about potential socio-economic and security challenges if it permits offshore gaming operators to operate within its borders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Secretary Remulla outlined the challenges faced by the Philippines due to the sector, including issues related to crime and regulatory evasion. \u201cThese factors ultimately led to the decision to cease their operations in the country,\u201d the DOJ said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It said the visit served \u201cas an important channel to encourage Timor Leste to critically examine the broader implications of welcoming POGOs and how these activities might affect its domestic affairs.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>See also:<\/strong>&nbsp;<a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/illegal-gambling-in-the-philippines-arrest-made-in-quezon-city\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Illegal gambling in the Philippines: arrest made in Quezon City<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Foreign offshore gaming workers have until October 15 to voluntarily downgrade their visas.<\/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 Bureau of Immigration has set an October 15 deadline for foreign offshore gaming workers to voluntarily downgrade their visas, with deportation proceedings commencing post-December 31 for non-compliant individuals. Concurrently, the Department of Justice has alerted Timor-Leste about the socio-economic and security risks associated with potentially hosting Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs) that are exiting the Philippines due to regulatory challenges and crime concerns.","focusai_entities":"Bureau of Immigration (BI), Joel Anthony Viado, Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR), Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), Department of Justice (DOJ), Jesus Crispin Remulla","focusai_location":"Philippines, Timor-Leste, Ayala Malls Manila Bay, Quezon City","focusai_target_profile":"ceo_executive (0.9), regulator (1.0), compliance_legal (1.0), operator_casino (1.0), affiliate_publisher (0.7), tech_data (0.7), payments_fraud_aml (0.8), investor_analyst (0.9), supplier_vendor (0.9), journalist_researcher (1.0)","focusai_suggestions":[{"label":"POGO Relocation Challenges?","query":"What are the specific regulatory and operational challenges for Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs) considering relocation to Timor-Leste, given the warnings issued by the Philippine Department of Justice?"},{"label":"Timor-Leste iGaming Impact?","query":"How will the Philippine government's proactive warning to Timor-Leste impact future bilateral relations regarding iGaming regulation and the potential for regulatory arbitrage?"}],"footnotes":""},"categories":[156,16333],"tags":[15789],"class_list":["post-777019689","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-regulation-news","category-south-east-asia-news","tag-pogos"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777019689","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=777019689"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777019689\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":777019723,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777019689\/revisions\/777019723"}],"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=777019689"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=777019689"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=777019689"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}