By Claire Jiao, Bloomberg, Jul 10, 2019
Online casinos in the Philippines that employ tens of thousands of foreign workers are set to surpass call centers as Manila’s top new office space users.
POGOs, short for Philippines offshore gaming operators, are expected to take up as much as 480,000 square meters of new office space by the end of the year against about 450,000 square meters by the business process outsourcing sector, according to Leechiu Property Consultants.
As of end-June, online casinos leased 242,000 square meters in Metro Manila against the call center industry’s 244,000 square meters, Leechiu said. POGOs are expanding aggressively and they pick locations faster while the outsourcing industry is stalling, CEO David Leechiu said at a briefing in Manila.
More than 50 POGOs have received permits to operate since President Rodrigo Duterte began awarding licenses in 2016. The government estimates that 138,000 mostly Chinese are working in online casinos that cater to overseas Chinese punters.
By Leechiu’s estimates, the POGO sector employs about 345,000. “It’s not a question of how fast it will grow but how fast we can keep up with their demand,” Leechiu said.
Read how the online gaming sector has boosted Philippine builders
Highlights
The government’s tax hunt will not deter POGOs from expanding since their margins are wide enough to absorb the extra cost, Leechiu said.
POGOs are also beginning to set up shop in Pampanga and Laguna provinces near the capital.
March –
IT’S WOMEN’S MONTH!
“Respect and support women
every day of the year/s!”
Invoke Article 33 of the ILO Constitution
against the military junta in Myanmar
to carry out the recommendations of the 2021 ILO Commission of Inquiry
against serious violations of protocols of
Forced Labour and Freedom of Association.
Accept the National Unity Government (NUG)
of Myanmar. Reject Military!
#WearMask #WashHands
#Report Corruption #SearchPosts #TakePicturesVideos
Monthly Observances:
Women’s Role in History Month
Weekly Observances:
Week 1: Environmental Week;
Women’s Week
Week 3: Philippine Industry and “
Made-in-the-Philippines Products Week
Last Week: Protection and Gender-Fair Treatment
of the Girl Child Week
Daily Observances:
March 8: Women’s Rights and
International Peace Day;
National Women’s Day
March 4: Employee Appreciation Day
March 15: World Consumer Rights Day
March 18: Global Recycling Day
March 21: International Day for the Elimination
of Racial Discrimination
March 23: International Day for the Right to the Truth
Concerning Gross Human Rights Violations
and for the Dignity of Victims
March 25: International Day of Remembrance of the
Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade
March 27: Earth Hour
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