POGO service providers' alleged shady links bared in AMLC report —Angara

Senator Juan Edgardo "Sonny" Angara on Tuesday prodded the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) and the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) to tighten their regulations of Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO).

He made the call as he disclosed an AMLC report in 2020 which showed that some service providers (SPs) of POGOs were linked with entities that are alleged to be beneficiaries of fraud and drug-related money.

Tagging the SPs as the "weak link," Angara said the AMLC report cited that there are suspicious activities primarily related to the transaction of SPs of internet based casinos.

The report said there were several transactions that involve individuals with no clear connections with SPs or service providers and these SPs may be using money service business accounts for highly substantial forex transactions.

"Ito po, Mr. Chairman ang mabigat dito sa report. 'Some of the service providers have a nexus with previously identified entities alleged to be beneficiaries of fraud and drug related money'," Angara said, citing the report.

"So 'yung conclusion po ng study in 2020 na ginawa ng AMLC or Anti Money Laundering Council, generally, POGOs pose a lesser threat compared to their SPs. So ang sabi niya ang bigger threat ay ang service providers," he pointed out.

A POGO licensee is a firm that operates the online games or sporting events via the internet using a network and software or program, and taps service providers to provide technical services, such as live-streaming of games for offshore customers or players who are non-Filipinos.

While PAGCOR and AMLC supervise POGOs which are subject to the Anti Money Laundering Covered Transaction Framework (AML-CFT), Angara said PAGCOR does not technically license SPs but merely accredits them to provide technical and operational services to POGOs.

The senator also pointed out the lack of accountability measures in the POGO industry as he observed that there is a low level of beneficial ownership identification in these SPs based on the PAGCOR data and the AMLC report.

"Pag tiningnan nga natin ang datos na galing sa PAGCOR, they gave us a list of makapal to na there are 340 POGOs SP, SC BPOs involved in the industry, which I suppose, they regulate pero ung titingnan mo walang beneficial owner, walang pangalan ng individual. Panay korporasyon lang," he said.

"E pagka may illegal na ginawa ito, pwede ba nating habulin? Because corporations can close up you can reopen and start a new corporation," he stressed.

Under the Securities and Exchange Commission, Angara explained that incorporators or stockholders are required to declare a corporation's beneficial owner.

Under the AMLC report, Angara said it was found that there's a high number of unregulated or unsupervised SPs as SPs are not within the realm of AML-CFT supervision, making these prone to abuse and exploitation by criminal organizations.

The report showed that in 2019 alone, local authorities closed down around 200 internet-based casinos and service providers that illegally serviced online gaming operations and in the same year, the local government seized the operation of one of the largest SPs for an internet-based casino.

He then took a swipe at PAGCOR for submitting documents that only show the names of corporations linked to POGOs. 

"Nakikita ko maganda 'yung nangyayari ngayon e. Sumisikip po or gumaganda yung regulasyon sa hanay ng pulis, sa hanay ng public order officials po natin pero sa hanay ng financial regulators natin, ng gambling regulators natin, are we doing our best or is there room for improvement?" he asked.

"I think with respect to PAGCOR, with respect to the AMLC, there's a lot that we can do. And the information mismo comes from AMLC. From this report of theirs," he added.

Regardless of the Congress' or the president's decision on the fate of POGO, Angara said there should be strict regulations in the industry.

"Sa AMLC at sa PAGCOR, whatever our decision is here, whatever the president's decision is, whether mabubuhay or mamatay itong industriya natin, kailangan nating maghigpit sa tingin ko," he said.

"Since we are looking for long term actions here. There's definitely a need for stronger regulation," he ended.

The Senate on Monday launched an inquiry to weigh the social costs and economic gains of the offshore gaming operations in the country.

POGOs hit the headlines recently over the reported series of crimes such as the abduction of foreigners who work for the offshore online gaming firms.—LDF, GMA News