The 41 offshore online gaming operators licensed by the Philippine Amusement Gaming Corp (Pagcor) have expressed their intention to shut down operations still within this year, said on Thursday the country’s Department of Justice (DOJ).

On July 22, the Philippine leader, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, said that Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) – now known as Internet Gaming Licensees (IGLs) – would need to end their business in that country by year-end.

“At present, the 41 licensed POGOs under Pagcor have already expressed their intention to yield to the directive of President Marcos and completely cease operations,” stated the DOJ in a written announcement.

The statement said foreign workers employed by offshore gaming operators had until October 15 to “voluntarily repatriate”.

“Starting on October 16, 2024, all 9G [employment] visas of affected foreign POGO workers would be downgraded to tourist visas, and they would have to leave the Philippines within 60 days or face involuntary repatriation,” added the DOJ.

The decision was agreed upon at a Thursday meeting of the “Task Force POGO Closure”, involving the DOJ, Pagcor, the Department of Labor and Employment, the Presidential Anti-Organised Crime Commission and the Bureau of Immigration.

The statement said the task force aims to “establish a clear, organised and streamlined set of guidelines for the total prohibition of POGO operations throughout the country by the end of the year, without sacrificing the welfare of the workers who will be affected by the Presidential directive”.

“This may just be the first one [meeting] that would be convened by us in order for us to have a streamlined, systematic and efficient process of implementing the policy directive of our President,” said Justice Undersecretary Raul Vasquez as cited in the announcement.

The statement said that Alejandro Tengco, Pagcor chairman and chief executive, cautioned that the “most challenging part” for the task force in “weeding out” offshore online gaming operators from the country would begin “on the very first day of 2025”.

That, Mr Tengco stated, was because the regulator expects some operators to “try to employ dirty tactics to hide their illegal business”.