Diokno wants POGOs out: Money laundering risks bigger than revenues
If he had his way, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas governor Benjamin Diokno would rather see the exit of Philippine offshore gambling operators than allow them to linger, posing money laundering risks.
In an interview with Reuters, Diokno said halting online gambling would have little impact on the economy, noting that the industry contributed only a few billion pesos in tax.
"There's some benefits, in terms of if they pay their taxes but there are also some risks. I tend to be risk averse. I'd rather they leave, if I have my way," Diokno said.
China earlier asked the Philippine government to ban all online gambling operations, saying a huge amount of Chinese funds are illegally flown out of China into the Philippines through cross-border money laundering.
POGOs have propped up real estate values and have even overtaken the information technology-business process management sector as the country's top demand driver for office space.
The government estimates that tax liabilities from POGOs had already accumulated to P21.6 billion. It also loses P2 billion in monthly revenues for every 100,000 unregistered POGO workers in the country.
