Philippines brings legal action against 33 offshore gambling operators

The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) has confirmed that it is going to pursue a legal action against 33 offshore gambling operators, which the regulator alleges have not paid licensing fee that already amount to billions worth of owed peso to the government.

A confirmation has come from the watchdog Chairman and CEO Alejandro Tengco, who offered further detail, outlining the next stages of the process. The amount cited by Tengco runs in the ballpark of PHP2.02bn or some $35.6m.

According to the Chairman, operators that were granted licensees under the previous administration have not really honored their licensing fees and obligations and have been found in violation of the Offshore Gaming Regulatory Manual, prompting a sterner response from the watchdog.

Tengco argued that a legal proceeding was very last on the regulator’s way of handling the situation but it was now necessitated due to lack of cooperation. PAGCOR has issued repeated appeals to the alleged wrongdoers and asked them to meet their obligations to no avail.

The 33 licensees have not been named in the official statement by the regulator, but Tengco has provided information about the situation as such. In the statement, the regulator and Tengco said that five operators had already shuttered their operations previously because of facing similar consequences due to unpaid licensing fees:

Because of this situation, we are duty-bound to take a legal course of action. We are now in the process of gathering pertinent information to file appropriate cases against them.

Tengco assured that the regulator, under his watch, will continue to carry out its duties and ensure that all gaming entities meet their obligations – both legally and in terms of due taxes and fees. Service providers must abide by regulatory policies, Tengo said and rued the fact that the pandemic had already written off much of the potential revenue that the government could have otherwise collected.

PAGCOR has also been stepping up its efforts to rein in the illegal gambling industry which has sprawled and continued to set up unlicensed gambling operations. In the meantime, the regulator has also been debating the idea to launch a licensed global casino of its own.

The Casino Filipino brand is set to be rolled out at some point next year, and become a new line of potential revenue for the government’s tax coffers.