By Neil Jerome Morales
MANILA (Reuters) – The Philippines’ videogaming regulator stated on Tuesday it will cancel the licenses of overseas betting companies and work with law enforcement companies to execute President Ferdinand Marcos Jr’s order of a overall restriction on the market.
In his State of the Nation address on Monday, Marcos stated he was prohibiting Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs), an market controlled by Chinese companies, and purchased the regulator to wind down the sector by the end of the year.
“No issue in closing down POGOs duetothefactthat I can conjureup nationwide security and the president’s order,” Alejandro Tengco, chairman of state videogaming regulator Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp (PAGCOR), informed Reuters.
The 42 certified POGOs straight and indirectly utilize around 40,000 Filipinos, PAGCOR information program, while almost 23,000 immigrants worked in the market as of end-2023.
The obstacle for law enforcers was to avoid these companies from going underground, Tengco stated, including the federalgovernment stood to lose aro