{"id":279192,"date":"2023-06-27T10:07:59","date_gmt":"2023-06-27T15:07:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=279192"},"modified":"2023-06-27T11:20:16","modified_gmt":"2023-06-27T16:20:16","slug":"philippines-police-rescue-2700-enslaved-workers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/philippines-police-rescue-2700-enslaved-workers\/","title":{"rendered":"Philippines Police Rescue 2,700 Enslaved Workers from Offshore Gaming Hubs"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"p1\">The Philippine National Police&#8217;s (PNP) Anti-Cybercrime Group carried out a series of raids in Manila on Tuesday that the law enforcement agency said resulted in the freeing of more than 2,700 suspected enslaved workers.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_279197\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-279197\" data-style=\"width: 858px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-post-thumbnail-858xAUTO wp-image-279197\" src=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/download-3-858x572.jpg\" alt=\"Philippines POGO workers human trafficking\" width=\"858\" height=\"572\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/download-3-858x572.jpg 858w, https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/download-3-430x287.jpg 430w, https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/download-3-302x200.jpg 302w, https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/download-3-238x158.jpg 238w, https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/download-3-194x128.jpg 194w, https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/download-3.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 858px) 100vw, 858px\" \/><figcaption  id=\"caption-attachment-279197\"class=\"text-description\">The office of a Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator is raided. Philippines police said several raids were carried out on June 27, 2023, that resulted in the freeing of more than 2,700 people thought to be enslaved. (Image: Philippine National Police)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"p1\">PNP officials said the operation targeted numerous businesses engaged in offshore gaming, known locally as Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs). Police said 2,714 people believes to be in forced labor were rescued in Manila&#8217;s Las Pinas City.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"main-blockquote\">\n<p class=\"p1\"><strong>All rescued persons are documented for booking and possible repatriation,&#8221;<\/strong> read a statement from the National Capital Region Police Office.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p class=\"p1\">POGOs were authorized under the Rodrigo Duterte presidency, which ran from June 2016 through June 2022. The online gaming sites aren&#8217;t allowed to accept players from inside the Philippines, but instead\u00a0 target players in other countries, most specifically in China, where most forms of gambling are illegal.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"p1\"><b>Slaves Freed<\/b><\/h2>\n<p class=\"p1\">Philippines police said of the more than 2,700 workers thought to be working in forced labor, 1,528 are Filipino residents. Six hundred were from China, 183 were from Vietnam, and 137 were from Indonesia.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"p1\"><strong>Rescuee Origins<\/strong><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li class=\"p1\">Philippines &#8212; 1,528<\/li>\n<li class=\"p1\">China &#8212; 600<\/li>\n<li class=\"p1\">Vietnam &#8212; 183<\/li>\n<li class=\"p1\">Indonesia &#8212; 137<\/li>\n<li class=\"p1\">Malaysia &#8212; 134<\/li>\n<li class=\"p1\">Thailand &#8212; 81<\/li>\n<li class=\"p1\">Taiwan &#8212; 21<\/li>\n<li class=\"p1\">Nigeria &#8212; 7<\/li>\n<li class=\"p1\">Yemen &#8212; 4<\/li>\n<li class=\"p1\">Pakistan &#8212; 2<\/li>\n<li class=\"p1\">South Africa &#8212; 2<\/li>\n<li class=\"p1\">India &#8212; 1<\/li>\n<li class=\"p1\">Somalia &#8212; 1<\/li>\n<li class=\"p1\">Sudan &#8212; 1<\/li>\n<li class=\"p1\">Cameroon &#8212; 1<\/li>\n<li class=\"p1\">Iran &#8212; 1<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"p1\">POGOs have been criticized by foreign governments, most importantly China&#8217;s Communist Party, for marketing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/maryland-license-plates-url-no-longer-directs-to-philippines-casino-website\/\">online gambling websites<\/a> to people who are prohibited from accessing such games via the internet. Duterte considered ending the trade, but decided the tax benefit from such online casino sites was too important.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"main-blockquote\">\n<p class=\"p1\"><strong>I decided we need it to benefit the interests of my country,&#8221;<\/strong> Duterte said in 2019.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p class=\"p1\">Duterte&#8217;s successor, Philippines President Bongbong Marcos, has so far allowed the POGO industry to continue. But this week&#8217;s crackdown on enslaved workers suggests the industry is coming under <a href=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/over-41000-illegal-gambling-arrests-in-the-philippines-so-far-this-year\/\">more law enforcement scrutiny<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"p1\"><b>Hiring Notice<\/b><\/h2>\n<p class=\"p1\">The US State Department this month cautioned travelers that casinos throughout Asia are being increasingly used for human trafficking, sometimes referred to as &#8220;modern slavery.&#8221; The federal agency&#8217;s &#8220;2023 Trafficking in Persons Report&#8221; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/us-state-department-says-casinos-asia-human-trafficking\/\">detailed an example<\/a> of a 26-year-old female from the Philippines who responded to an online job listing to work in a call center in Cambodia.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">After traveling to Cambodia, the woman, who was pregnant at the time, was enslaved and forced to work for a fraudulent cryptocurrency scheme. She later lost her unborn child before managing to escape.<\/p>\n<div class=\"callout\">\n<p class=\"p1\">Along with the Filipino police infiltrating POGOs suspected of violating human rights, the Philippines Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) this week issued a notice warning about job postings for &#8220;offshore gaming-related employment.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"p1\">&#8220;The job postings, usually looking for prospective customer service representatives with experience in cryptocurrency trading, entice unsuspecting victims with high-paying jobs and numerous attractive benefits only to find themselves being used in scam activities,&#8221; the notice read. The gaming operator-regulator encourages Filipinos to &#8220;be vigilant and cautious of these job advertisements.&#8221;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Police in the Philippines say a series of raids of POGO operators resulted in over 2,700 people thought to be enslaved being set free.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":279197,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[69069,21],"tags":[84629,86861,84088,82451,13520,82836,86862],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Philippines Police Rescue 2,700 Enslaved Workers<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Philippine National Police carried out a series of raids that the agency said resulted in the freeing of more than 2,700 enslaved workers.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/philippines-police-rescue-2700-enslaved-workers\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Philippines Police Rescue 2,700 Enslaved Workers\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Philippine National Police carried out a series of raids that the agency said resulted in the freeing of more than 2,700 enslaved workers.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/philippines-police-rescue-2700-enslaved-workers\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Casino.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-06-27T15:07:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-06-27T16:20:16+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/download-3.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Devin O&#039;Connor\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@CasinoorgDevinO\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Devin O&#039;Connor\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/philippines-police-rescue-2700-enslaved-workers\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/philippines-police-rescue-2700-enslaved-workers\/\",\"name\":\"Philippines Police Rescue 2,700 Enslaved Workers\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/philippines-police-rescue-2700-enslaved-workers\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/philippines-police-rescue-2700-enslaved-workers\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/download-3.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-06-27T15:07:59+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-06-27T16:20:16+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/02b4fee8814a4003903b0021bffb4ebf\"},\"description\":\"Philippine National Police carried out a series of raids that the agency said resulted in the freeing of more than 2,700 enslaved workers.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/philippines-police-rescue-2700-enslaved-workers\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/philippines-police-rescue-2700-enslaved-workers\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/philippines-police-rescue-2700-enslaved-workers\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/download-3.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/download-3.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":800,\"caption\":\"The office of a Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator is raided. 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Devin's passion for politics and background in the world of pop culture television gives him insight into the gaming industry backstories that often drive news these days. After graduating from Penn State University with a theater arts degree, he worked at MTV Networks\/Viacom from 2005 to 2010 as a writer and producer. His credits included Total Request Live, New Year's Eve specials, and a special featuring poker superstar Daniel Negreanu. He later moved on to the HGTV\/DIY Network, where he created, wrote, and produced three series specials: That's So House Hunters, That's So 80s, and That's So 90s. Devin came on board with Casino.org in 2014. He lives in Pennsylvania and is an avid marathoner, having completed 15 races. 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