Pagcor backs police raid on illegal POGO firm in Parañaque City
MANILA, Philippines — The country’s casino regulator on Saturday threw its support behind law enforcers’ drive against illegal online gaming firms stressing that Philippine offshore gaming operations remain suspended amid the Luzon-wide lockdown.
In particular, Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) chair and CEO Andrea Domingo cheered the Friday night raid on a fly-by-night POGO outfit in Parañaque City which resulted in the arrest of several employees, including 44 Chinese.
Pagcor commended the Philippine National Police (PNP) for the arrest of 53 individuals who were caught in illegal offshore gaming operations in Parañaque.
Domingo said the busted Philippine offshore gaming operator (POGO) at a house on NAIA Road, Parañaque City was an unregistered company with the government’s gaming regulator.
“It was operating illegally and was not registered with Pagcor,” she said, adding that even legal POGO firms are complying with the regulator’s suspension order that’s coincided with the enhanced community quarantine scheme.
“I commend the Philippine National Police for this successful raid,” Domingo said.
The Pagcor chief had earlier asked the Inter-Agency Task Force to allow legal POGO firms to operate using work-from-home setups, adding that the government stood to lose as much as P6 billion in fees and royalties due to the suspension of gaming operations. Authorities have yet to rule on this proposal, however.
Meanwhile, Pagcor said it has donated 85,000 surgical masks, N95 masks, face shields, and protective clothing to the Rizal Medical Center, Jose Reyes Memorial Medical Center, Tondo Medical Center, Lung Center of the Philippines, Philippine Heart Center, and Philippine General Hospital.
Pagcor-registered POGOs firms also donated personal protective equipment to frontline health workers fighting the coronavirus pandemic.
This was in addition to Pagcor’s earlier distribution of 47,000 food packs donated by POGO firms to impoverished communities in Benguet, Bulacan, Pampanga, Tarlac, and Metro Manila.
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