The Philippines should pull the plug on online gambling

Crime and corruption linked to POGOs outweigh dwindling economic benefits

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20230628 POGO fair

A POGO trade fair in Manila in 2019. At its peak, the online gambling sector generated around $500 million worth of taxes and fees a year for the government. (Photo by Cliff Venzon)

Alvin Camba is assistant professor at the Josef Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver focused on the political economy of development and a faculty affiliate of the Climate Policy Lab at Tufts University.

Before the pandemic, online gambling companies serving offshore customers brought windfall returns to Philippine landlords and tax collectors as their operations spread through office towers and business parks in Manila and elsewhere.

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