ASIAN ROUNDUP
Those operating illegal lotteries or trading in counterfeit lottery tickets face large fines or up to three years in prison and illegal foreign exchange for gambling offenses carry the potential for five-year terms. As well as individuals, corporations and other legal entities can now be subject to criminal sanctions. Legal entities can face fines of up to MOP18 million (US$2.25 million) and judicial winding up. Their officers can also be fined if they are found to have committed offences. In the wider market, Macau continues to grow with GGR in October 2024 above 75 percent of pre-pandemic levels despite junkets being a thing of the past. The first ten months of 2024 saw GGR reach US$23.7bn and latest government forecasts are for growth to continue to US$29.7bn in 2025. Longer term, the new Chief Executive, with his closer ties to Beijing, is likely to see the special administrative region align more closely with mainland China. POGO no more One of the biggest developments in the region took place in the Philippines where President Ferdinand Marcos announced a complete ban on offshore gaming operations, or POGOs. The ban was announced in July and backed up by the signing of executive order #74 in November. This ordered the immediate shuttering of offshore gaming operations within the country. The ramifications of the action have been felt both domestically and further afield. Philippine authorities started downgrading the visas of thousands of POGO employees sparking a mass exodus that has continued since August. POGOs had been regulated by the Philippine government’s PAGCOR since 2016 and cater for a predominantly Chinese clientele. The sector employed an estimated 20,000 people and contributed US$ billions to the local economy. However, despite regulator PAGCOR opposing prohibition, Ramos judged that the economic hit was justified amid reports of the scheme being used to cover up serious illegal activities, including human trafficking, tax evasion, money laundering and cyber scams. A ban on offshore gaming could help the Philippines exit the “grey list” of jurisdictions at risk for money laundering. The country has been on the list, compiled by the Financial Action Task Force, since 2021.
Whilst offshore operations will be illegal in Philippines, the is unlikely to be the end of the organizations concerned. Instability in the offshore gambling market will compel operators to navigate a complex web of regulatory challenges and legal risks, which will ultimately influence their relocation decisions. Those operators seeking to legitimize their businesses under a new regulatory framework may look to more mature European jurisdictions where offshore gaming licenses are well-established. Others may choose to go down a very different route. A recent study by James Porteous, Head of Research for the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities (IFHA) Council on Anti-Illegal Betting and Related Crime, suggests illegal gambling operators will be displaced to more welcoming markets leading to Thailand’s illegal betting crime model being exported to new regions. Porteous warns that some of these operators will migrate to jurisdictions where they already have infrastructure or connections. Past industry upheavals saw the proliferation of POGO-like illegal betting operations in countries like Laos, Cambodia, and Myanmar. These regions have since become hotspots for cyber scams and organized crime syndicates, continuing to operate globally with minimal scrutiny. Although ASEAN countries are showing some degree of coordination in combating these operations, particularly under pressure from China, the challenge remains daunting. The situation is exacerbated by endemic corruption, political instability, and weak legal frameworks in many of these countries. While the offshore gaming scheme looks to have reached the end of the road, domestic online gaming operations – referred to as eGames – enjoyed explosive growth in 2024. This helped drive the country’s gaming revenues higher, despite a subdued land-based sector. Data released in November showed overall revenue hit PHP94.61bn (US$1.61bn) in Q3, despite land-based GGR falling two percent year-on-year. EGaming revenue accounted for PHP35.71bn (US$0.61bn), a rise of 465 percent year-on-year, and is expected to reach a target PHP100bn by the end of 2024. Another area of interest will likely be free-to-play and social casino games neither of which are impacted by the POGO ban.
Although not strictly an Asian market, Australia has long
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IMGL MAGAZINE | DECEMBER 2024
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