THE Philippine government expects its income from Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) to plunge to almost P4 billion this year after some POGOs moved to neighboring Southeast Asian countries amid the pandemic.
As of August. 6, the number of POGOs in the country went down to 36 out of 60 before the pandemic, while there are only 133 service providers, down by more than half from its original high of 300.
Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR) President and CEO Andrea Domingo said in a budget hearing yesterday that several offshore gaming operators have already moved to Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam.
According to Domingo, income from POGOs usually range from P8 billion to P9 billion per year. So far, they have managed to collect only P1.6 billion for the first semester of this year, and may collect only P4 billion from POGOs by the end of 2021.
Casinos in Metro Manila are still closed because of the quarantine, while PAGCOR strengthened its monitoring on digital gambling and even online sabong.
Last year, PAGCOR’s net income fell to P1.55 billion from P8.84 billion in 2019, a drop of about 82 percent.
(PHOTO CREDIT: pna.gov.ph)