The POGO (Philippines offshore gaming operator) pile on in the Philippines is truly on. An industry that has employed thousands of Filipinos and, for the law-abiding operators, taken every effort to follow every regulation set out before them, is now taking fire from every direction. Most recently, the mayor of Quezon City is now joining in on the action, personally joining raids of several operations.
Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte participated in “surprise inspections” of Omniworld Enterprise, Singtech Enterprise, Great Empire Gaming and Amusement Corp, reports ABS-CBN News. The raids revealed that several companies failed to have all the necessary clearances to conduct a business, specifically noting location clearance, sanitary permit, environmental clearance and some occupational permits.
As a result of the raids, the companies were given 15 days to get everything in order. “While we welcome the business locators in our city, we want to ensure that our rules and regulations are followed to the letter.” Otherwise, you will have to face the consequences of non-compliance,” Belmonte said.
Belmonte is of course no stranger to the gambling industry. She’s previously been in the news for agreeing to allow construction on the Solaire North casino in her city, before then insisting citizens of the city would have to pay entrance fees to be permitted to enter the establishment, a decision that the Philippines Amusement and Gaming Corporation is fighting.
Checking the paperwork of POGOs isn’t the harshest move against POGOs of recent months though. The industry has faced accusations that it does not pay as much as it should in taxes, that it may be full of Chinese spies, and that it could be fooling Chinese mainlanders into working there.
The taxation problem was never much of a concern to city governments before, as those funds would be going to the national budget rather than their own. However, as biases against the Chinese are ever growing in the Philippines, it’s now becoming politically popular to fight that growing “threat” in any way possible, a game Belmonte is now eager to be seen playing.
