PAGCOR keen on issuing more international gaming licenses

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR) is open to keeping the Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO) sector alive, with its top official saying that it provides employment to close to 70,000 Filipinos.

PAGCOR chairman and CEO Alejandro Tengco said POGO, now called International Gaming Licensees (ILG), also contribute to the growth of the property industry as they occupy 625,000 square meters of office space.

Asked if he was open to issuing more international gaming licenses, Tengco responded affirmatively with the condition, “unless I am barred from doing so.”

“It’s not easy to (shut down) the industry. There are close to 70,000 Filipinos working in the POGO sector, where will you put them? There are also 625,000 sqm occupied by (industry players),” Tengco told reporters yesterday.

He said there are allied industries benefiting from IGLs, namely the food and restaurant business, the automotive sector and others.

As it is now, he said, the industry has already shrunk to roughly 25 percent compared to its size before.

Tengco said Pagcor’s revenues from the sector had risen to P5 billion last year from P2.9 billion in 2022.

Nonetheless, he allayed concerns the public may have against IGLs, saying that PAGCOR has tightened the requirements and has been cracking down on illegal operators.

Last year, PAGCOR issued a new framework for these so-called IGLs. It required existing operators to formally reapply for their licenses.

PAGCOR also imposed a higher capital requirement for operations.

The agency’s new internet gaming licensing regulations require, among others, that an internet gaming licensee must have an authorized capital of at least P100 million, of which P25 million must be paid up.

This is higher than the previous capital requirement of only P15 million with P3 million paid up.

The licenses shall only be valid for two years and are site specific. This means that licenses outside of t he exact address indicated are invalid. The operating site shall havea maximum floor area of 25,000 sqm.