The Philippines’ Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) has added a third Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) to a list of licensed operators it says have failed or refused to cooperate with compliance checks.
According to a notice posted on the AMLC website, Smarc Group International Limited will have its license revoked due to its failure to cooperate, with the public “advised to be cautious and to observe appropriate protocols in dealing with” the named POGO. As previously reported by IAG, MG Universal Link Limited and Inner Strong Limited were also found to have failed to cooperate in the conduct of its compliance-checking.
Alongside Smarc, they represent three of the 36 POGOs licensed to operate as of 4 October 2021.
Offshore gaming operators and their service providers were recently added to the list of persons covered by the AMLC under amendments to the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2001. The amended Act gives the AMLC authority to conduct compliance checks, provided at least 24 hours’ notice is given, on any of the organizations it covers.
The Philippines was one of four nations named by global money laundering and terrorist financing watchdog, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), as being subject to increased monitoring in order to help strengthen its AML and CTF effectiveness.
The regulation of POGOs has been gradually tightening in recent months, with President Rodrigo Duterte having signed into law in September a new tax on gross gaming revenues.
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