Pagcor cancels accreditation of a Pogo service provider

Members of the Pagcor monitoring team inspect the buildings in Pampanga, where CGC Technologies, Inc. operates on May 4, 2023 | Photo from Pagcor

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor) on Wednesday announced it canceled the accreditation of Philippine offshore gaming operator (Pogo) service provider CGC Technologies Inc.

In a statement, Pagcor said it canceled CGC’s accreditation after investigations confirmed that it was involved in criminal activities, violating some of the conditions attached to its permit.

Pagcor also ordered the “forfeiture of CGC’s Performance Bond effective immediately” and imposed a fine of $350,000 to CGC’s offshore gaming licensee Oriental Game Limited “for its failure to ensure the legitimate conduct of CGC’s business.”

Pagcor chair Alejandro Tengco, meanwhile, warned Pogos with canceled accreditations and licenses to cease their operations immediately.

“Continued operations despite the cancellation of their accreditation or licenses shall be considered illegal. Immediate action will be taken against those who are engaging in such,” said Tengco.

“Pagcor strongly advocates responsible gaming to curb all forms of social ills being linked to gaming. This is the reason why we continue to forge close partnerships with other government agencies. Through proper regulation and cooperation with our law enforcement agencies, we will continue to ensure that revenues from regulated gaming will be used for more worthy causes, especially nation-building,” Tengco added.

Before its cancellation, CGC was already issued a suspension order after being subjected to an inter-agency search operation on May 4, 2023, where it was entangled in several allegations, such as credit card fraud, serious illegal detention, and human trafficking activities.

During this operation, CGC was also discovered to have been operating six buildings in Mabalacat, Pampanga — only two accredited by Pagcor.

Pagcor said personnel working in the hub were of mixed nationalities, including Indonesians, Vietnamese, Nepalese, Bhutanese and Chinese.

All this came just a week after they issued a warning to its offshore gaming licensees and accredited service providers involved in illegal activities.

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