IN light of the arrest of Chinese and other foreign nationals, reportedly involved in illegal online gaming recently, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) would like to clarify that the activities of said individuals are not in any way related to legitimate Philippine Offshore Gaming Operations (POGO).

The agency emphasizes that any individual, group or entity that conducts online gambling without approval to operate from Pagcor should not be categorized as POGO.

Pagcor Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Alejandro Tengco says POGO operations are strictly being monitored by the agency, and any gaming entity that fails to pass the application process for an offshore gaming license and fails to fulfill the documentary and financial requirements, among others, cannot be labeled as legal offshore gaming operators or POGO.

Tengco adds that Pagcor is in close coordination with various agencies such as the Department of the Interior and Local Government, Department of Justice, Philippine National Police and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to effectively determine any illegal offshore gaming operations in the country and thwart kidnapping and human trafficking incidents.

Pagcor currently has 34 approved POGO operators, 127 accredited service providers and five special class of Business Process Outsourcing firms that have undergone probity checks. Personnel of customer relations service providers, gaming software platform providers and live studio and streaming providers are required to secure offshore gaming employment licenses and are now ordered to obtain police clearances.