Closure of POGOs to have 'very little' impact on GDP

THE closure of Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs) will have «very little» impact on the country's economic growth, National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. announced the banning of POGOs during his State of the Nation Address last July 22. The President wanted the gaming operators to shut down by the end of this year.

Attending the 2025 budget deliberations at the House of Representatives on Monday, Balisacan said «our estimates show that POGOs account for less than one-half of 1 percent of GDP (gross domestic product), or that's.23 percent of GDP, in 2023.»

Balisacan cited figures from the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) that about 25,000 Filipinos were employed in POGOs in 2023.

He also said that «POGOs accounted for roughly 11 percent of office occupancy in the first half of 2024.»

«We do note that the industry, the real estate industry reports a high take-up of office spaces by government, various government agencies and that helped the situation in the real estate sector,» Balisacan said. «So all in all, there's very little impact of the cessation of POGO operations in the country.»

He said the impact of the POGO ban «does not even take into account the social» cost and «reputational risk» that the Philippines faced because of the criminal activity linked to the gaming operators.

It was Finance Secretary Ralph Recto who recommended a total ban on POGOs.