{"id":321480,"date":"2024-06-03T09:38:34","date_gmt":"2024-06-03T14:38:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=321480"},"modified":"2024-06-03T09:58:18","modified_gmt":"2024-06-03T14:58:18","slug":"philippines-pogo-industry-under-threat-after-chinese-agent-fracas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/philippines-pogo-industry-under-threat-after-chinese-agent-fracas\/","title":{"rendered":"Philippines POGO Industry Under Threat After \u2018Chinese Agent\u2019 Fracas"},"content":{"rendered":"

A bill freshly filed in the Philippine Senate calls for the dismantling of the country\u2019s controversial online gambling (or \u201cPOGO\u201d) industry, citing its links to cases of human trafficking and online scams.<\/p>\n

\"POGO,
Bamban Mayor Alice Guo denied being a Chinese asset during a senate inquiry last month, above. Guo has been linked to a POGO complex in her town that is accused of human trafficking and fraud. (Image: Rappler)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A POGO, which stands for Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator, is a company that is licensed and operates in the Philippines, but targets customers based outside the country, largely in China.<\/p>\n

\n

Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, the bill\u2019s author, claims that many of the businesses, which are largely run by Chinese nationals, front as POGOs but are also \u201cengaged in human trafficking and scamming.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cWhile the POGO industry has brought in revenue and jobs, the country has grappled with a surge in related crimes, raising concerns about the overall impact,\u201d Gatchalian said in a statement Friday.<\/p>\n

Mayor Mistrust <\/strong><\/h2>\n

One such POGO, in the town of Bamban, Tarlan province, was raided by authorities in February 2023 for alleged involvement in crypto scams. It was raided again in March this year because of allegations of human trafficking and cybercrime.<\/p>\n

During a May 2024 Senate inquiry, Gatchalian revealed that the land on which the POGO was built was partially owned by the town\u2019s mayor, Alice Guo.<\/p>\n

The mayor\u2019s car was also found in the compound, and questions have been raised over her apparent wealth, which she flaunted and was at odds with her status as a provincial mayor.<\/p>\n

\n

Guo\u2019s Philippine citizenship is also under question amid inconsistencies in the details she provided about her birth and education. Guo has been accused of being a Chinese \u201casset\u201d tasked with influencing Philippine politics, an allegation she denies.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

A longstanding dispute between Manila and Beijing over territories in the South China Sea\u00a0had cooled under previous president Rodrigo Duterte but has escalated during the administration of President Bongbong Marcos.<\/p>\n

Security Threat <\/strong><\/h2>\n

Long before the Guo affair, lawmakers and analysts warned about the potential security threat posed by the POGO sector.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a huge national security risk since we lack the ability to completely monitor them and screen their entry to our country. Our reactive posture adds to our vulnerabilities,\u201d Sherwin Ona, an associate professor of political science at De La Salle University in Manila, told The South China Morning Post<\/em> this week. He added that the controversy around Guo should serve as \u201ca wake-up call.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

At its height under Duterte, the POGO industry employed more than 300K Chinese workers. After a tightening of controls, that number is now closer to 100K-150K, according to official estimates.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A bill freshly filed in the Philippine Senate calls for the dismantling of the country\u2019s controversial online gambling (or \u201cPOGO\u201d) industry, citing its links to cases of human trafficking and online scams. A POGO, which stands for Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator, is a company that is licensed and operates in the Philippines, but targets customers […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":321481,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[69069,21,19,61],"tags":[91109,91108,13520,82836,91110],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nPhilippines POGO Industry Under Threat After \u2018Chinese Agent\u2019 Fracas<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Philippine senator wants to dismantle the POGO industry after claims that Bamban mayor Alice Guo is a Chinese asset.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/philippines-pogo-industry-under-threat-after-chinese-agent-fracas\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Philippines POGO Industry Under Threat After \u2018Chinese Agent\u2019 Fracas\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Philippine senator wants to dismantle the POGO industry after claims that Bamban mayor Alice Guo is a Chinese asset.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/philippines-pogo-industry-under-threat-after-chinese-agent-fracas\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Casino.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-06-03T14:38:34+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-06-03T14:58:18+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Alice.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"666\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Philip Conneller\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@casinoorgphilc\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Philip Conneller\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/philippines-pogo-industry-under-threat-after-chinese-agent-fracas\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/philippines-pogo-industry-under-threat-after-chinese-agent-fracas\/\",\"name\":\"Philippines POGO Industry Under Threat After \u2018Chinese Agent\u2019 Fracas\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/philippines-pogo-industry-under-threat-after-chinese-agent-fracas\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/philippines-pogo-industry-under-threat-after-chinese-agent-fracas\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Alice.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-06-03T14:38:34+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-06-03T14:58:18+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/58769b72851c8cf117fb58ca150ebf8b\"},\"description\":\"Philippine senator wants to dismantle the POGO industry after claims that Bamban mayor Alice Guo is a Chinese asset.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/philippines-pogo-industry-under-threat-after-chinese-agent-fracas\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/philippines-pogo-industry-under-threat-after-chinese-agent-fracas\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/philippines-pogo-industry-under-threat-after-chinese-agent-fracas\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Alice.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Alice.jpg\",\"width\":1000,\"height\":666,\"caption\":\"Bamban Mayor Alice Guo denied being a Chinese asset during a senate inquiry last month, above. She has been linked to a POGO complex in her town that is accused of human trafficking and fraud. (Image: Rappler)\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/philippines-pogo-industry-under-threat-after-chinese-agent-fracas\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"News\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Asia Pacific Gaming\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/asia-pacific-gaming\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Philippines POGO Industry Under Threat After \u2018Chinese Agent\u2019 Fracas\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/\",\"name\":\"Casino.org\",\"description\":\"Latest Casino and Gaming News\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/58769b72851c8cf117fb58ca150ebf8b\",\"name\":\"Philip Conneller\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/cropped-5-1-96x96.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/cropped-5-1-96x96.png\",\"caption\":\"Philip Conneller\"},\"description\":\"In Philip Conneller\u2019s eight years with Casino.org, he has covered the gaming industry from Las Vegas to Macau and everything in between. He currently focuses his coverage on gaming law, white-collar crime, global money laundering, tribal gaming, politics, and regulation. Philip was the original features editor for poker\u2019s Bluff Magazine and editor for Bluff Europe, which he helped launch. His writing has also been featured in ESPN, Forbes, Time Out, The Sun, and The Daily Star, as well as iGaming Business, eGaming Review, and numerous other industry news and tech websites. His news stories for Casino.org\/news have been linked by The Washington Post, The Daily Mail, People Magazine, and Jimmy Fallon's Tonight Show, among many others. Philip once won $20,000 with 7-2 off-suit. He has been reprimanded for unwittingly playing Elton John\u2019s piano on two separate occasions on both sides of the Atlantic. He became a writer because he is a lousy pianist. Philip lives outside London with his wife and children, where he spends his time agonizing about Arsenal FC. Contact Philip at philip.conneller@casino.org.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/muckrack.com\/philip-conneller\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/philip-conneller-1495a48\/?originalSubdomain=uk\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/casinoorgphilc\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/author\/phillip-conneller\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Philippines POGO Industry Under Threat After \u2018Chinese Agent\u2019 Fracas","description":"Philippine senator wants to dismantle the POGO industry after claims that Bamban mayor Alice Guo is a Chinese asset.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/philippines-pogo-industry-under-threat-after-chinese-agent-fracas\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Philippines POGO Industry Under Threat After \u2018Chinese Agent\u2019 Fracas","og_description":"Philippine senator wants to dismantle the POGO industry after claims that Bamban mayor Alice Guo is a Chinese asset.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/philippines-pogo-industry-under-threat-after-chinese-agent-fracas\/","og_site_name":"Casino.org","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews","article_published_time":"2024-06-03T14:38:34+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-06-03T14:58:18+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1000,"height":666,"url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Alice.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Philip Conneller","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@casinoorgphilc","twitter_site":"@Casino_Org","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Philip Conneller","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/philippines-pogo-industry-under-threat-after-chinese-agent-fracas\/","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/philippines-pogo-industry-under-threat-after-chinese-agent-fracas\/","name":"Philippines POGO Industry Under Threat After \u2018Chinese Agent\u2019 Fracas","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/philippines-pogo-industry-under-threat-after-chinese-agent-fracas\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/philippines-pogo-industry-under-threat-after-chinese-agent-fracas\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Alice.jpg","datePublished":"2024-06-03T14:38:34+00:00","dateModified":"2024-06-03T14:58:18+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/58769b72851c8cf117fb58ca150ebf8b"},"description":"Philippine senator wants to dismantle the POGO industry after claims that Bamban mayor Alice Guo is a Chinese asset.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/philippines-pogo-industry-under-threat-after-chinese-agent-fracas\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/philippines-pogo-industry-under-threat-after-chinese-agent-fracas\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/philippines-pogo-industry-under-threat-after-chinese-agent-fracas\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Alice.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Alice.jpg","width":1000,"height":666,"caption":"Bamban Mayor Alice Guo denied being a Chinese asset during a senate inquiry last month, above. She has been linked to a POGO complex in her town that is accused of human trafficking and fraud. (Image: Rappler)"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/philippines-pogo-industry-under-threat-after-chinese-agent-fracas\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"News","item":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Asia Pacific Gaming","item":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/asia-pacific-gaming\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Philippines POGO Industry Under Threat After \u2018Chinese Agent\u2019 Fracas"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/","name":"Casino.org","description":"Latest Casino and Gaming News","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/58769b72851c8cf117fb58ca150ebf8b","name":"Philip Conneller","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/cropped-5-1-96x96.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/cropped-5-1-96x96.png","caption":"Philip Conneller"},"description":"In Philip Conneller\u2019s eight years with Casino.org, he has covered the gaming industry from Las Vegas to Macau and everything in between. He currently focuses his coverage on gaming law, white-collar crime, global money laundering, tribal gaming, politics, and regulation. Philip was the original features editor for poker\u2019s Bluff Magazine and editor for Bluff Europe, which he helped launch. His writing has also been featured in ESPN, Forbes, Time Out, The Sun, and The Daily Star, as well as iGaming Business, eGaming Review, and numerous other industry news and tech websites. His news stories for Casino.org\/news have been linked by The Washington Post, The Daily Mail, People Magazine, and Jimmy Fallon's Tonight Show, among many others. Philip once won $20,000 with 7-2 off-suit. He has been reprimanded for unwittingly playing Elton John\u2019s piano on two separate occasions on both sides of the Atlantic. He became a writer because he is a lousy pianist. Philip lives outside London with his wife and children, where he spends his time agonizing about Arsenal FC. Contact Philip at philip.conneller@casino.org.","sameAs":["https:\/\/muckrack.com\/philip-conneller","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/philip-conneller-1495a48\/?originalSubdomain=uk","https:\/\/x.com\/casinoorgphilc"],"url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/author\/phillip-conneller\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/321480"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/36"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=321480"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/321480\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":321485,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/321480\/revisions\/321485"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/321481"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=321480"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=321480"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=321480"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}