The Philippines continues crackdown of illegal online gambling rackets

Law enforcement agencies in the Philippines are continuing their hunt of unlicensed online gambling operations. Recent estimates suggest that around 100,000 Chinese-born immigrants might be involved in the online betting activities in the Philippines.

According to the gaming regular in the country PAGCOR, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp., over 170 gambling dens operating illegal online casinos have been raided since 2017. Most of the joints focus on Chinese immigrants, and most of them employ people who can speak the Chinese language of Mandarin.

They are employed in a range of roles from drivers, cooks, and administrative staff to IT professionals.

An investigation by The Beijing News found Chinese migrant workers in the Philippines claiming to be forced into working 12-hour shifts seven days a week, with just one day off a month.

Aside from the Special Administrate Region of Macau, gambling is strictly prohibited in China. That is why rogue companies set up shop in the Philippines and market their gaming networks to those inside the People’s Republic.

Such businesses can become licensed by obtaining a Philippines Offshore Gaming Operation (POGO) certification. But many do not in an effort to avoid taxes and workplace inspections.

Those detained in the raids face deportation, something many of them might actually welcome. Many Chinese nationals say they were promised high-paying jobs, but are instead working in near-slave-like conditions. Workers add that they are fined and penalised for various infractions such as taking too long of a lunch break.

The investigations and subsequent raids of the gambling dens were conducted by the National Bureau of Investigations, Philippine National Police, and the country’s Immigration Bureau.

Source: Casino.org