MANILA — Gaming firm Oriental Group said Friday it would invest in at least 2 offshore gaming hubs, as government pledged to make setting up so-called POGOs easier.
The POGO hubs make it “easier” for companies to set up shop since the areas will include satellite offices of the immigration and tax bureaus as well as the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp, said Oriental general manager Kevin Wong.
“With all the social tensions, we want to put everyone together… When all other people saying so and so with our industry, we want to remove that. We cant really isolate but at least put it in a place. Within the POGO hub everything will be there,” he said on the sidelines of the Phil-Asian Gaming Expo.
The government can also also easily monitor visa compliance and number of workers within the hubs, he said.
“If you locate in a POGO hub no one would say illegal ‘yan because all the government agencies are already there” Wong said.
A 10-hectare hub in Clark is already operational while a P8-billion 20-hectare hub in Cavite is set to open soon, Wong said.
Locators within POGO hubs do not have ecozone incentivesbut they can avail of other perks such as 5-year license extensions said PAGCOR chairman Andrea Domingo.
