Philippine senator Joel Villanueva on Thursday urged other members of the country’s Senate to pass Senate Bill 1281, which aims to prohibit all forms of online gambling in the nation, including operations of the formerly-named Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs).

Mr Villanueva said in a statement that the country’s gaming regulator, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp (Pagcor), “needs to step up its game in shutting down POGOs and all forms of online gambling”.

“The mounting evidence against POGOs, linking them to various crimes such as torture, kidnapping, murder, and human trafficking, demands urgent action from Pagcor,” stated the politician.

He added: “As the authorised gaming regulator, Pagcor has unfortunately failed to ensure that these POGO operators conduct their business operations above board.”

The regulator had previously said that some former POGO licensees had brought the sector into disrepute due to factors including tax avoidance, illegal employment, and failure to pay proper fees.

Pagcor approved in July last year new regulations for POGOs, which are now referred to as “Internet Gaming Licensees” (IGLs). The regulator recently converted 13 provisional IGL permits to full ones, taking to 40 the list of IGL permit holders allowed to offer gaming to customers offshore.

Mr Villanueva submitted Senate Bill 1281 in September 2022, with the document still to be deliberated on at Senate-committee level. The document calls for “prohibiting online gambling and the placing of wagers or bets through the Internet or any form of online gambling activities”.

The bill proposes that any person involved in online gambling shall be sentenced to prison for up to six months or pay fine of up to PHP500,000 (US$8,527).

In the Thursday statement, Mr Villanueva also urged Pagcor “to investigate other forms of online gambling that are easily accessible to anyone with a mobile device”.

“This is why we reiterate our call not only to completely ban POGOs but also all forms of online gaming,” he added.

Pagcor chairman and chief executive, Alejandro Tengco, said in a statement earlier this month that legitimate offshore gaming operators generated funds for the government, “contributing more than PHP5 billion [US$85.2 million] to Pagcor’s gross revenues in 2023”.

Another member of the Senate, Sherwin Gatchalian, filed a bill in May seeking to outlaw operations of offshore gaming operators in the country.

The Philippine Department of Labor and Employment said this week that around 22,000 Filipinos working in legal offshore gaming operators in the Metro Manila region might lose their jobs should the online gaming companies be banned in the country.