Tax collections from Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) for the first eight months of the year surpassed the full-year revenues for 2021, the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) reported on Monday.
During a Senate hearing, BIR Director Atty. Sixto Dy Jr. said the agency collected P4.438 billion from January to August of the year, up from the P3.91 billion collected for full year 2021.
These were also made before the exodus of POGO entities and the foreign nationals employed in the sector. Data presented by the BIR showed that there were a total of 163 POGO entities in the country as of June 2022, comprising 35 licensees and 130 service providers.In terms of the number of workers in the POGO industry, there were a total of 34,245 in the POGO industry as of June 15, 2022 made up of 17,509 foreign nationals and 16,736 Filipinos.
The BIR attributed the failure of the POGO industry to return to pre-pandemic levels to the transfer and relocation of entities to other countries such as Dubai in the United Arab Emirates and in Vietnam, the change in the taxing regime, and the ongoing crackdown of the Chinese government against online gambling.