Despite the urging of the Chinese government for the Philippines to ban online gambling, President Rodrigo Duterte said that he was not willing to ban the industry outright. It should be noted that Duterte was in support of his country’s move to license internet gambling back in 2016.
President Duterte, while not in favor of gambling per se (calling it a “stupid activity”), admitted that he would not have allowed legal online gambling if so many new jobs hadn’t been made available in his country because of it.
In a news conference to his people recently, the president said: “We decide to benefit the interest of my country. I decide that we need it [online gambling].
China asked the Philippines to ban online gambling, claiming that most of the people working for offshore gambling operators are essentially Chinese citizens. Nearly 138,000 Chinese-speaking foreign workers have been granted work permits for these offshore gambling operators (aka POGOs).
Under Philippine law, Filipinos are not allowed to play at these offshore sites. The country’ gaming regulator has thus far issued some 60 online gambling licenses to companies.
Duterte received what his office called “an implied request” from President Xi Jinping. While Duterte listened to the request “out of courtesy”, in the end he decided against prohibiting it.