POGOs changed tactics, downsize in groups—DoJ

After successive raids by government agents, the Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) have since opted to change their operations by breaking into small groups to continue their illicit operations.

This was according to Department of Justice (DoJ) Undersecretary Nicholas Ty, saying these groups are no longer flashy and high-tech operations as they want to avoid detection to be able to continue their illicit operation.

The technique of the POGOs now in order to operate is to become smaller groups, elusive cells, and scattering across the country and set up shop in apartment units with basic equipment to evade detection.

This was the game plan of the POGOs, which makes it more challenging for law enforcement to crack down on them.

Ty said that authorities discovered the shift after raiding Lucky South 99, and even the Smart Web that literally occupied a whole building is gone, and in Metro Manila or nearby areas none exist anymore.

The DoJ official revealed that authorities have recently noticed POGOs downsizing significantly, opting to operate in small, hidden venues like apartment units.

Instead of renting out entire buildings and equipping them with state-of-the-art gear, these operations are now stripped down, often relying on cheap computers and other low-budget devices.

Even the devices being utilized by the illicit POGOs still operating are no longer high-tech, opting to use cheap computers and devices just to continue their operations.

“They are no longer well resourced the POGOs compared to their former operations prior to the raid. They are even content in renting a house, not a building to operate,” said Ty.

With POGOs changing gears, Ty added that authorities are being forced to adapt new tactics as well.

Instead of targeting massive, well-coordinated networks, law enforcement is now pursuing multiple search warrants from different courts to take down these scattered cells one by one.

This was also the observation of National Bureau of Investigation Director Jaime Santiago; thus, he directed agents to continue their monitoring to make sure the splinter groups spread in different areas are busted.