Marcos signs law making Pogo ban permanent
President Marcos has signed into law a measure banning all offshore gaming operations in the Philippines, as well as other related activities.
Republic Act No. 12312, also known as the Anti-Pogo Act of 2025, was signed into law by the President on Oct. 23, but was published only on Oct. 29.
The new law makes permanent the executive order Mr. Marcos issued on Nov. 5 last year that imposed an immediate ban on all Philippine offshore gaming operators (Pogos) in the country.
In his third State of the Nation Address in July 2024, Mr. Marcos announced the official ban on Pogos, citing the social costs and threats to national security the industry had spawned.
Du30 act undone
Pogos were given until the end of that year to cease operations.
Republic Act No. 12312 repealed RA 11590, the law that taxed Pogos and their service providers and authorized their operations in the country, signed by former President Rodrigo Duterte in 2021.
Under the new law, work permits and visas of all individuals engaged in offshore gaming operations—or employed by Pogos, Pogo gaming content providers, and Pogo-accredited service providers—are declared canceled.
Also, all Pogos and Pogo-related entities “shall continue to be liable for all taxes, duties, regulatory fees, and all other charges up to the last day of their operations, which are due and payable to the government arising from or in connection to their operations,” said the law.
Moreover, any act, omission, series, or combination of violations shall constitute “unlawful activity” under Republic Act No. 9160, or the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2001.
The new law prohibits any person or entity from “recruiting, obtaining, hiring, providing, offering, transporting, transferring, maintaining, harboring, or receiving any Filipino or foreign national” for the purpose of employment in offshore gaming operations in the country.
Oversight committee
It imposes imprisonment of up to 12 years and fines reaching P50 million on violators.
The Department of Labor and Employment has been tasked to formulate and implement programs to assist in the transition of all Filipino workers affected by the ban.
To ensure the law’s effective implementation, an Administrative Oversight Committee (AOC) will be created, composed of the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission—or its organizational successor-in-interest—as chairperson; and the Department of Justice, Department of Information and Communications Technology, and Department of the Interior and Local Government as members.
The AOC has been given the authority to ensure real-time and interoperable information-sharing among the agencies concerned, and the speedy investigation and prosecution of all persons accused or detained, among others.
‘Moral imperative’
The two senators who led the advocacy to terminate all Pogo activities in the country lauded the enactment of RA 12312, saying it ensures sustained government action against Pogo-like entities that have remained despite the ban’s implementation this year.
In a statement, Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian said, “Pogos have brought nothing but a surge in criminality that includes kidnapping, human trafficking, and prostitution, among others. This (the law) isn’t just an economic issue but a moral imperative.”
Likewise, Sen. Risa Hontiveros, chair of the Senate committee on women, children, family relations, and gender equality, said she has long called for the Pogo ban given how the industry had abused and exploited not just people, but also institutions.
“From minors forced into prostitution to serve Chinese Pogo workers, to the mysterious story of Mayor Alice Guo’s scam hubs, Pogos have harmed our country in more ways than we can imagine,” she stressed.
Broader measures
For their part, House lawmakers said on Wednesday that the law, while welcome, must also pave the way for broader measures banning online gambling.
In a statement, Cibac Rep. Eddie Villanueva, one of the authors of the House version of the law, called its passage “a long-awaited moral and social victory” and reiterated his commitment to seeing the passage of its complementary measures, including the anti-online gambling bills now filed in the 20th Congress.
Manila Rep. Rolando Valeriano said in his own statement that the new law added momentum to pending House bills seeking to ban all forms of online gambling, including “e-sabong” and internet-based casinos.
Mamamayang Liberal Rep. Leila de Lima, meanwhile, described the law as a long-overdue correction of a “Duterte administration-sponsored Chinese creeping invasion.”
“These Pogos have caused so much harm—from crimes, corruption, and abuse to threats to our national security—but were tolerated and even protected by the previous administration,” she said.
“The government must ensure the expulsion of all remaining Pogos in the country, including those that still operate in a different form but are still Pogos,” she added. —WITH A REPORT FROM DEXTER CABALZA
