A justice ministry official said on Monday that the Philippines will stop operations of 175 offshore gambling firms and deport about 40,000 Chinese workers, part of a crackdown on the notoriously opaque online gaming industry.
In 2016 the sector in the Philippines grew exponentially as operators capitalized on the country's liberal gaming laws to target customers in China, where gambling is banned.
At their peak, Philippine offshore gambling operators, or POGOs, employed more than 300,000 Chinese workers, but the epidemic and higher taxes forced many to operate elsewhere.
Justice ministry spokeswoman Jose Dominic Clavano said the crackdown was triggered by reports of murder, kidnapping and other crimes committed by Chinese nationals against fellow Chinese nationals.
The POGOs that were targeted for closure had licenses that were expired or revoked for violations of government fees, according to Clavano, who said the deportation of Chinese workers would start next month.
The finance ministry said that the government generated 7.2 billion pesos $122.21 million in 2020 and 3.9 billion dollars in POGO fees last year. The amount of tax, workers' spending and office rental is estimated to be much larger than the amount they think is going to be spent.
Beijing supports the deportation and crackdown on POGO related crimes, according to the embassy in Manila, and the government strongly opposes and takes tough measures to combat gambling. The Philippines regulator, which recently said there were 30 licensed POGO firms versus 60 before the epidemic, did not respond to a request for comment.
A full exit of the POGO industry would leave vacant 1.05 million square meters 259 acres of office space a third of the size of New York s Central Park and 8.9 billion pesos $151 million in foregone annual rent, according to Leechiu Property Consultants.
According to Leechiu's data, the sector employs 201,000 Chinese and 111,000 Filipinos, which is estimated that POGOs deliver 190 billion pesos $3.22 billion to the economy each year, a boon to the property and retail sectors.