The Philippine gambling industry is unlikely to be able to breathe.
Despite joint efforts to crack down on record-breaking revenue and tax-evading POGOs and commercial offline casinos, critics are still pushing the story that the industry is a magnet for crooks and violent criminals.
Recent reports on the subject by the South China Morning Post suggest that things are getting out of hand.
Theresita Ansi, an activist in the Philippines and head of the Movement for the Restoration of Peace and Order (MRPO), describes her views on the situation in straightforward but clear terms:
“The Philippines is becoming a refuge for Chinese criminals and criminal gangs.”
In addition, Ang claims that the recent reports of gambling-related kidnappings distributed by the Philippine government underestimate the actual size of the crime.
“Previously it was once a month, twice a month, and then once a week, twice a week. [Now] two or three cases involving Chinese every day in Metro Manila.”
Official figures cite 67 kidnappings since 2017, according to President Rodrigo Duterte’s administration. Of these, 42 occurred this year, but only six are believed to be responsible for the declaration.
Others are almost always associated with local gamblers who get illegal loans from Chinese loan sharks, don’t pay, and are kidnapped for ransom.
Criticism is pouring in from within the government as well as the government’s official position on the situation of the Philippine gambling industry.
Senator Sherwin Gachalian pointed to the shortcomings of the Duterte administration’s approach to managing the pogo, pointing to the biggest threat the gambling industry faces on the island of pogo.
Local casino resorts are the biggest criminals in the criminal department, according to the government’s own report, but Gachalian says the pogos may actually win the crown due to mostly uncontrolled operations.
“[POGO operators] come in, find a broker, rent a place, install and operate without permission. Actually I know that because the family business is in the office in Pasig [city], and I knew the number of POGOs in the building was increasing. And two months ago, the [Internal Revenue Department] raided the building and expelled nearly 300 Chinese. [Game companies] were operating there without permission, and they were occupying the fifth or seventh floor.”
According to Angsi, this scenario is much more common than is currently being reported.
In general, Chinese migrant workers who use the Philippines’ too laid-back “visa on arrival” program enter the country and disappear into the woodworks, exceeding their permits.
Then, after finding jobs with unlicensed POGOs in the area, teams of up to 40 Chinese workers gather in individual condominiums to run online betting sites.
By:온라인바둑이
