Philippines DOJ warns illegal POGO operators are splitting into smaller sites

Illegal offshore gaming could make a comeback even with the nationwide ban in force, the Philippine Department of Justice has cautioned, because operators are relocating to smaller sites so they are harder to find. Justice Undersecretary Nicholas Felix Ty said raids had taken apart big gaming compounds made up of several buildings, yet shutting those sites does not mean the activity has ended. Certain operations, the DOJ added, have split into decentralised setups, among them ones that function inside a single room in a residential area.

The Anti-POGO Act of 2025 codifies the nationwide prohibition. The DOJ says illegal operators have altered their methods so they can avoid the large compounds that past raids used to target. Raids carried out most recently have uncovered small-scale businesses, some of them inside just one room of a residential property. Rather than collapsing under the presidential ban, most syndicates have split into small cells that share infrastructure, and in this decentralised system the usual regulatory surveillance and standard police raids find them harder to recognise. The DOJ's warning concerns two things: that these businesses keep running, and that a resurgence may occur.

Ty said raids carried out recently had found operations that are mostly run by Chinese nationals, who came into the Philippines by exploiting visa loopholes or who stayed on once their permits had expired. The government has stepped up monitoring of immigration arrangements and of the premises tied to illegal gambling operations, according to the DOJ. As operators relocate to smaller locations, the reported exploitation of visa loopholes and expired permits is one of the issues identified, together with the security and leasing arrangements that the government is now examining.

Dismissed police and military personnel who were allegedly hired to guard clandestine operations are being pursued by the Department of Interior and Local Government together with the Philippine National Police. Investigators are looking into claims that such individuals were taken on as private security whose job was to keep the sites shielded from inspections. Those under scrutiny are former members of the police and military, and the allegations centre on their work for the clandestine businesses, in particular arrangements meant to stop the smaller premises from being inspected.

The DOJ said commercial landlords and property managers may incur legal liabilities under applicable anti-trafficking laws if they knowingly supply space to unauthorised online gaming or scam operations. Asset seizures are among the possible consequences. The warning is aimed at anyone who knowingly leases premises for such activities, which puts property arrangements under scrutiny along with the operators who use the space.