{"id":777020103,"date":"2024-10-23T09:39:33","date_gmt":"2024-10-23T12:39:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/?p=777020103"},"modified":"2026-04-22T04:55:23","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T07:55:23","slug":"over-5000-foreign-offshore-gaming-workers-in-the-philippines-have-not-downgraded-their-visas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/over-5000-foreign-offshore-gaming-workers-in-the-philippines-have-not-downgraded-their-visas","title":{"rendered":"Over 5,000 foreign offshore gaming workers in the Philippines have not downgraded their visas"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The visas of foreign offshore gaming workers will be automatically changed to tourist visas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Philippines.- Justice secretary<strong> Jesus Crispin Remulla <\/strong>has reported that over 5,000 foreign workers employed by\u00a0offshore gaming operators\u00a0have not filed for a downgrade of their visas.\u00a0The deadline to downgrade voluntarily was October 15, which means the <a href=\"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/over-10000-foreign-offshore-gaming-workers-in-the-philippines-downgrade-visas\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">visas will now be changed to tourist visas<\/a> automatically, allowing holders to stay in the Philippines for a maximum of 59 days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Remulla said offshore gaming workers are no longer allowed to conduct any activities except for winding down. &#8220;The winding down is crucial because their business involves managing funds in e-wallets used for betting,&#8221; he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Bureau of Immigration (BI) previously warned that if workers did not leave the country before December 31, it would commence deportation proceedings. The BI had reported that by October 15, <strong>12,000 foreign offshore gaming workers<\/strong> voluntarily applied for the downgrade of their visas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) secretary\u00a0<strong>Jonvic Remulla<\/strong>\u00a0has said he will ensure the closure of all offshore gaming operators by year-end as ordered by\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/philippine-president-orders-ban-on-offshore-gaming-operators\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">President Ferdinand Marcos Jr<\/a>, and would close operators at Island Cove in Cavite, which was previously owned by his family. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He said there would be <strong>a final inspection of offshore gaming operators on December 15<\/strong> and that they must be completely closed by December 31. In a separate interview, he said he had had discussions with offshore gaming operators at Island Cove, who agreed to halt operations on December 15.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Philippines PAOCC says only 100 offshore gaming operators still being monitored<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The\u00a0<strong>Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC)\u00a0<\/strong>has reported a decrease in the number of offshore gaming operators being monitored since\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/philippine-president-orders-ban-on-offshore-gaming-operators\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">President Ferdinand Marcos Jr<\/a>\u00a0ordered their closure by the end of the year. Executive director undersecretary\u00a0<strong>Gilbert Cruz<\/strong>, said\u00a0<strong>only 100 remain under surveillance<\/strong>\u00a0according to the latest report from the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">During a radio interview, Cruz said many offshore gaming operators had already ceased operations or are in the process of doing so. Cruz expressed confidence in the government\u2019s ability to eliminate all illegal offshore gaming, noting that even smaller groups would be detectable, especially at night due to the time zone differences. He said legal action would soon be taken against officials connected activities after investigations by lawmakers, the National Bureau of Investigation and other government agencies.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The visas of foreign offshore gaming workers will be automatically changed to tourist visas.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":176,"featured_media":777019844,"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 government is enforcing a comprehensive shutdown of offshore gaming operators (POGOs) by year-end, with foreign workers' visas automatically downgraded to tourist status, leading to impending deportations. This regulatory crackdown, spearheaded by President Marcos Jr. and various agencies, has significantly reduced active POGOs, with only 100 remaining under monitoring by PAGCOR, signaling a complete cessation of this gaming vertical in the jurisdiction.","focusai_entities":"Jesus Crispin Remulla, Bureau of Immigration (BI), Jonvic Remulla, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC), Gilbert Cruz, Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR), National Bureau of Investigation","focusai_location":"Philippines, Cavite, Island Cove","focusai_target_profile":"ceo_executive (0.9), regulator (1.0), compliance_legal (1.0), operator_casino (0.9), affiliate_publisher (0.7), tech_data (0.7), payments_fraud_aml (0.8), investor_analyst (0.9), supplier_vendor (0.8), journalist_researcher (1.0)","focusai_suggestions":[{"label":"Economic Impact of POGO Exit?","query":"What are the long-term economic implications for the Philippines following the complete cessation of the POGO industry, particularly concerning foreign direct investment and employment?"},{"label":"Regional iGaming Landscape Shift?","query":"How will the regulatory vacuum left by the POGO shutdown impact the broader iGaming landscape in Southeast Asia, particularly concerning B2B licensing and operational hubs for offshore gaming?"}],"footnotes":""},"categories":[439,16333],"tags":[20326],"class_list":["post-777020103","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-legal-news","category-south-east-asia-news","tag-illegal-gambling"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777020103","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=777020103"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777020103\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":777020110,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777020103\/revisions\/777020110"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/777019844"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=777020103"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=777020103"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=777020103"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}