The Department of Justice has announced that there are no longer any Philippine offshore gaming operator hubs operating in the Philippines following a government crackdown that effectively shut down the sector.
Fredderick Vida, Secretary of Justice, told reporters that the extensive crackdown and enforcement action has shut down 80% of currently operational hubs in one month from the expiration date. He stated that there are no legally sanctioned POGOs currently operating within the country and there are no illegally operating POGOs; and it was reiterated that the official position of the government with respect to POGOs is no POGO operations will occur in the Philippines.
Although the sector has been officially closed, the Department of Justice has stated that monitoring of these operations will continue. The DOJ will maintain close observation and will act if any illegal activity is discovered or reported to them as anticipated.
The Department of Justice will continue to actively work to ensure that any group that chooses to operate outside the law will be reported, and appropriate action taken against them.
Although the DOJ has made the current status of the country a POGO-free zone, they want to alleviate any doubts about not addressing the issue. Monitoring activities will continue which suggests that the government will not tolerate a return to unauthorized activity in the form of POGOs as a result of this closure.
