Philippines' Marcos orders closure of offshore gaming industry

MANILA: President Ferdinand Marcos Jr on Monday banned gambling operations set up in the Philippines that target gamblers overseas, including Chinese mainlanders, because of crimes linked to the industry.

Marcos ordered the gaming regulator to wind down and cease such offshore gaming operations by the end of the year.

"The grave abuse and disrespect to our system of laws must stop," Marcos said.

The firms had ventured into illegal activities such as financial scamming, money laundering, prostitution, human trafficking, kidnapping, torture and even murder, the President said in his State of the Nation address.

Philippine offshore gambling operators, or POGOs, emerged in 2016, with companies setting up shop in the Southeast Asian nation and targeting overseas markets, including China where gambling is banned.

The chief of the gaming regulator did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The POGO industry employed around 25,000 Filipinos and nearly 23,000 foreigners as of end-2023, government data show.