This week the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr., declared the intent to ban all offshore gambling operators marking a shift in the country’s gambling industry. This change is a drastic one that defines the new approach of the Philippines towards the gaming sector, especially the Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO) that have become a hot topic of discussion in the last two years.
The move to shut POGOs form part of a_In light with this new outlook, the government begins to weigh the impact of the gambling sector in the Philippine economy and society. These offshore operators mainly serving the Chinese customers have been a rich source of revenues as well as issues. Even as they have brought an infusion of income into the country’s central and local government revenues, these industries have been linked with all sorts of crimes like money laundering, human trafficking, and unlawful employment agencies.
It was said and done by President Marcos when he declared it in his annual State of the Nation address that got approval and a standing ovation in Congress from local lawmakers. This positive reception is however due to the growing worry among Philippine officials and the citizens on the vise effects of the offshore gambling industry. The testimonies of torture, prostitution and human trafficking associated with POGOs have topped news headlines for some time with the public calling for enforcement of the law.
The prohibition on POGOs is quite the opposite of the previous administration, which sought to promote their expansion as a way to boost relations with China and bring Chinese investment and tourism. However, this change in the regulatory climate is partly attributed to the current administration’s future orientation towards friendly ties with the United States to counter China in the South China Sea territory.
On the practical level, there are many issues related with the implementation of the ban for the Philippine government. The near-term risk is primarily of an economic nature since the target POGO sector has been a significant driver of the Philippine economic development. The ban is anticipated to force a huge volume of capital out of China, an effect that is likely to affect other industries which have relied on POGO, such as the real estate and service sectors.
Further, thousands of workers who lost their jobs in the POGO industry have to be provided social and economic remedies; some are Chinese. To address the issue of redundancy faced by former POGO workers, the Department of Labor and Employment, for instance, has ideal plans of launching special job fairs for laid off staff who they aim at providing support and employment for in local companies.
The Philippines’ decision to step up the crackdown on offshore gambling is in line with a trend that is apparent throughout Southeast Asia: countries are rethinking their gambling frameworks. For instance, Thailand is now in the process of debating on whether or not they should allow casinos for the first time in the nation and could easily become the next gambling center in the region. On the other hand, Cambodia has already been banned in online gambling, and the government is planning on developing the areas that used to be centers for gambling into more being of business.
All these regional changes are rooted in the many problems associated with gambling that Southeast Asian nations have been grappling with as they seek to adopt this useful economic tool. While countries such as the Philippines have cracked down operations, the worry now arises that unlawful gambling may relocate to regions that have lax laws for example Myanmar and Nepal.
The same issue can be seen in the recent shut downof POGOs in the Philippines pointing to the need for intensified regional measures in combating the issues of online gambling. Due to the cross national character of these operations, it is increasingly becoming almost impossible for any country to manage or even govern these operations a factor that calls for coordinated effort among ASEAN member states.
The Philippines is already going ahead with its policy of shutting down offshore gambling operators and while this process will have profound implications for the economic, social and diplomatic spheres the country is going to undertake these steps rather carefully. The success of this policy shift will therefore depend on the government’s responsiveness in implementing the ban, economics of the policy, and treatment of factors that have made Philippines commercially strategic to offshore gambling in the first instance.
The concerns in relation to gambling in the Southeast Asia region stress the constant struggle and concern between economic growth and the effects. When the countries of the region remain constant to these problems, the results of policy choices will define the development of the gambling business in Southeast Asia for many years.Philippines Cracks Down on Online Gambling Amid Regional Shifts in Gaming Policies