CEZA should ensure POGO ban followed —Palace

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Malacañang reminded Cagayan Economic Zone Authority administrator and chief executive officer Katrina Ponce Enrile to ensure that the ban on Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) is followed.

“Consistent with Republic Act No. 7922, also known as the ‘Cagayan Special Economic Zone Act of 1995,’ you are hereby instructed to adhere to the directive issued by the President during his State of the Nation Address on 22 July 2024 regarding the immediate ban of Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators or Internet Gaming Licensees in the Philippines, subject to applicable laws, rules and regulations,” read a memorandum issued by Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin on Nov. 5 by order of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

In his State of the Nation Address in July 2024, Marcos banned all POGOs in the country, saying these had ventured into illicit areas such as scamming, money laundering, prostitution, human trafficking, kidnapping, torture, and murder.

On Nov. 5, Marcos also issued Executive Order No. 74 which prohibits POGOs, internet gaming, and other offshore gaming operations in the country.

Executive Order No. 74 states that the ban on POGOs and internet gaming licenses shall encompass illegal offshore gaming operations, license applications, license renewals, and cessation of operations.

POGOs refer to entities that provide and participate in offshore gaming services while offshore gaming operations/services refer to online games of chance, limited to livestreamed electronic casino games, online random number generator games, and online sports betting, exclusively and directly offered to foreign players, located outside of the country, via the internet or online means.

Under the EO, all POGOs/IGLs and other offshore gaming operators without the necessary license, permit, or authorization from the relevant government licensing authority are classified as illegal gambling entities as defined under Section 2 of EO No. 13 (s.2017), and are covered by the ongoing and intensified crackdown on illegal gambling activities being enforced by law enforcement agencies.

The application for new licenses, permits, or authorizations of POGO/IGL and other offshore gaming applicants shall no longer be allowed.

The EO further indicated that all existing licenses, permits, or authorizations issued to POGO/IGLs shall no longer be renewed or extended.

All POGOs/lGLs and other offshore gaming operations and other offshore gaming-related/auxiliary/ancillary services with issued licenses, permits or authorizations shall completely cease operations, including the winding up of their affairs, on 31 December 2024 or earlier.

GMA News Online has contacted CEZA for comment and will update this story once a reply is received.

In July 2024, CEZA CEO Katrina Ponce Enrile and her father, Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Juan Ponce Enrile, said Marcos’ decision to ban POGOs should not destroy CEZA operations, including its offshore gaming licensees.

The father and daughter tandem personally made the appeal before the House Committee on Public Order and Safety which conducted an investigation into crimes related to POGOs on July 31, saying that protecting CEZA, including its offshore gaming licensees that CEZA identifies as interactive gaming (iGaming) operators, is in the best interest of the country.

The Enriles argued that unlike the POGOs licensed by the state-run Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR), the foreign iGaming operators licensed by CEZA all operate legally and are prohibited from soliciting and accepting bets from the Philippines and other countries where gambling is prohibited.

Further, Katrina Ponce Enrile stressed that CEZA has authority to conduct offshore iGaming operations since it can register enterprises organized or domiciled in the Philippines or any foreign country as provided under its Charter, a law principally authored by her father, a former senator.

Earlier in the same hearing, Katrina Ponce Enrile said that CEZA has no POGO licensees and are not involved in POGO-related crimes but decried that CEZA has been losing clients since POGO operations were allowed in the Philippines under the Executive Order 13 issued by then President Rodrigo Duterte back in 2017. —KG, GMA Integrated News

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