Marcos Jr. may ban PIGOs if issues arise

President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. would not hesitate to impose a total ban on Philippine Inland Gaming Operators (PIGOs) if they cause similar problems to those that led to the shutdown of Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs).

Responding to concerns raised by Senate President Francis Escudero, Presidential Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro assured the public that the government is closely monitoring PIGOs and conducting a study on their impact.

The study shows that PIGO has yet to cause crimes compared to POGO, which had issues with tax compliance and were linked to criminal activities like human trafficking.

Castro noted key differences between POGOs and PIGOs, emphasizing that while POGOs typically hire foreign workers, PIGOs employ mostly Filipinos, contributing significantly to the Philippine economy through taxes and marketing expenditure.

Nevertheless, if the issues that arose with POGOs were to happen with PIGOs, the President would not hesitate to impose a total ban on PIGOs as well, based on data.

Malacañang said Thursday it needed sufficient data before considering a total ban on PIGO, noting that Escudero raised concerns over Filipinos losing money to local online gambling.