PAGCOR asks POGOs to comply with regulations
PAGCOR urged the online gaming operators to comply with current regulations and pay taxes.
Philippines.- The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp (PAGCOR) has warned Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO) to comply with current laws and regulations. The regulator also ordered POGOs to strictly pay proper taxes due to government.
The warning comes as the Philippine government intensifies its monitoring and enforcement measures. Jose Tria Jr., special assistant to the PAGCOR chairman, said: “Let this serve as a final warning for everyone to strictly comply with all the rules, regulations and directives of all other government agencies which may have jurisdiction over the other aspects of your operations.” PAGCOR continues with its attempts to enforce local regulations.
PAGCOR’s chairman explained that POGO operations include regulations and applications for the appropriate visas or permits for all their employees. These include payment of proper taxes and fees due to local agencies and they all should strictly adhere to.
“Finally, for those under-declaring the income tax of their employees, be sternly warned that you will be placed under strict scrutiny by the Bureau of Internal Revenue [BIR] for such actions. The BIR won’t tolerate the practice of declaring income tax below industry standards and we will deal accordingly,” he added.
PAGCOR revenue was up in January-April
During the four-month period between January and April 2019, the state-run corporation posted gross revenue of €430.6 million. According to a statement from PAGCOR, the figure represents an 11.4% increase from the same period last year. Total revenue from gaming operations totalled €410 million, though no year-on-year comparisons were available for that number.
Pagcor chairman and chief executive Andrea Domingo reportedly explained that PAGCOR will do its best to sustain the momentum. “Right now, we are recording a monthly average of €107.8 million in revenue,” Domingo added when explaining the figure.
