PH told: Ban all online gambling

MANILA -- Beijing has urged Manila to ban all online gambling in the country following the suspension of new applications for Philippine Offshore Gaming Operations (POGO).

“Indeed, we have also taken note of the Philippine government’s announcement and appreciates it. We hope the Philippines will go further and ban all online gambling,” Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Geng Shuang said in a press briefing in Beijing on Tuesday night.

The Chinese official said Beijing viewed online gambling as the “most dangerous tumor in modern society detested by people all across the world.”

He expressed hope that the Philippines “will further strengthen law enforcement with China and jointly tackle criminal activities, including online gambling and cyber fraud.”

Geng said this would help create “an enabling environment for the development” of the two nations’ bilateral relations and peace and stability in the region.

The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR) issued a mora

torium on new POGO applications after lawmakers warned that the proliferation of online gaming operations could have security and labor concerns. According to the state-run gaming regulator, the moratorium on licenses will last at least until the end of the year. In a previous statement, the Chinese Embassy in Manila said a “large number” of Chinese nationals have been illegally recruited and hired in the Philippine gambling industry. It also noted that many of the Chinese citizens working illegally in Philippine casinos or POGOs have been subjected to “modern slavery due to severe limitation of their personal freedom.” Among others, the Embassy said online gambling has affected the Chinese side and undermined its financial supervision and financial security as a “huge amount” of gambling-related funds, amounting to hundreds of millions of Chinese yuan, flow illegally out of China and into the Philippines every year. (PNA)