CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY (MindaNews / 10 October) — When Mark, a 23-year-old fresh graduate from Cagayan de Oro, first tried online gambling, he said it seemed harmless. He saw a social media influencer promoting a betting site, clicked the link, and decided to play. His first bet was ₱200. His first win was ₱20,000.
What began as a casual game turned into a daily routine. Mark played baccarat on PlayTime, an online casino registered under the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR). “Nagasto na nako ang personal nako nga kwarta. Kato raman untang extra (ang gamiton),” he recalled. (I’ve used up all my personal money. I was supposed to use only my extra funds).
Over two years of gambling, he estimated losing more than ₱100,000, “Gi hinay-hinay dayon nila ug bawi akong daog, nga wala nako nabantayan,” he said. (They slowly took back my winnings, and I didn’t even notice).
Mark’s story reflects a growing concern about the rise of online gambling in the country. With betting apps and digital wallets now common on smartphones, gambling is accessible anytime and anywhere.
On September 30, the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) announced that it had dismantled around 10,000 illegal gambling websites with the help of private and government partners. During a press conference in Quezon City, CICC Acting Executive Director Renato Paraiso said many of these sites quickly reappear under new names, calling the process a “never-ending chase.”
Earlier, during the August 20, 2025 House briefing for PAGCOR, Chair and Chief Executive Officer Alejandro Tengco said the agency could not act on many illegal operators because some are not based in the Philippines.
This borderless structure allows online gambling platforms to continue operating beyond national regulation, even while targeting Filipino users.
The local impact of a global bet
The Philippines’ participation in online gambling has international roots. In 2016, Philippine Offshore Gaming Operations (POGOs) expanded under former President Rodrigo Duterte. These companies cater mainly to clients in China, where gambling is banned.
With PAGCOR licensing these operations, the Philippines became a hub for offshore betting. But the industry’s growth came with problems: unpaid taxes, unregistered workers, and links to organized crime.
By 2024, PAGCOR data showed that fewer than 50 POGOs were operating legally, while more than 300 were unregulated. The Department of Finance reported that the combined costs of legal and illegal operations may have exceeded the country’s earnings, contributing approximately ₱160 billion annually but causing up to ₱200 billion in social and economic damage.
While authorities have since tightened restrictions, many of the same online systems—servers, payment channels, and recruitment models—are now used by locally accessible gambling platforms. The same digital structure that once catered to Chinese bettors now fuels online betting among Filipinos.
One of the notable cases brought to the Senate involved an alleged POGO hub in Barangay Cugman, Cagayan de Oro, owned by Chinese businessman Tony Yang. During the September 2024 Senate briefing, Senator Risa Hontiveros stated that the hub Yang owns was operating under a POGO service provider registered at PAGCOR named Oroone Incorporated.
Yang, or Yang Jian Xin, had obtained a Philippine birth certificate under the name Antonio Maestrado Lim and registered his businesses under the Filipino name with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
The Philippine Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) states that Yang established an ₱800-million steel manufacturing plant, the Philippine Sanjia Steel Corporation, in Misamis Oriental, and the POGO hub in Alwana Village, in Cugman. Sanjia Steel employed at least 300 Chinese workers in their 3,000-hectare Phividec Industrial Estate in the province.
When a local radio station asked about the city’s involvement, Cagayan de Oro City Councilor Romeo Calizo denied any local issuance of permits for the operation. He said it was PAGCOR that issued the firm a permit. The local government unit (LGU), he explained, has no authority over the matter. “Naa may POGO dira sa Alwana, Cugman, long existing, operating, pero wala ta nagbali-bali kay ang national man ang naghatag ug permiso sa ila.” [There is a long existing POGO operating in Alwana, Cugman, but we didn’t interfere since the national (PAGCOR) granted their permit].
However, records show that on April 3, 2017, less than a year after POGO’s legitimization, the City Council permitted Oroone’s operation in Cugman through Resolution No. 12660-2017.
A police report from last year stated that there were no longer personnel inside the establishment during the raid. To determine whether the hub was licensed or had legally ceased operations, local police coordinated with PAGCOR. However, when MindaNews sought an update from the Cagayan de Oro City Police Office (COCPO) a year later, no new information on the case was provided. As of Friday, October 10, authorities have yet to release findings on the status of the alleged POGO hub.
In Cagayan de Oro, MindaNews sought representatives from one of the city’s licensed e-games establishments but they declined to comment, saying they “value client privacy” and “cannot risk exposure.”
Uncertain way out
In August this year, Rufus Rodriguez, Representative of the 2nd congressional district, called for stronger regulation of online gambling, citing its growing impact on young people and families. He noted that while online gambling may be accessible with a single tap, its consequences can be long-term, both psychologically and financially.
Despite such calls, the government’s limited response reflects a broader uncertainty surrounding the industry’s regulation, affecting those who bet on such games.
Such tolls reflected on Mark, whose recovery began when a major e-wallet company delinked gambling apps from its platform last August 16. “Nakatabang gyud to” (That really helped). Some of his friends also stopped playing after the restriction. Mark said he has slowly paid back his debts and now avoids gambling apps altogether.
He believes government action is necessary to prevent others from falling into the same trap. “Kung ila ning bali-walaon, daghan kinabuhi maguba” (If the government ignores this, many lives will be ruined), he said.
Online gambling in the Philippines sits at the intersection of global demand and local vulnerability. The government’s efforts to shut down illegal sites continue, but the challenge lies in addressing the ease of access that draws people like Mark into the industry that once served foreign clients but has evolved into a domestic issue, one that operates across borders but destroys lives at home. (Henniequel Shayne G. Acobo / MindaNews)
