A record raid in the southern Philippines has revived a question security experts have raised for years. What else might be happening inside the offshore gaming hubs that authorities keep shutting down?
A political science professor at a Manila university argues the answer could involve far more than illegal gambling. He warns that some of the remaining POGOs may be operating as fronts for Chinese influence and surveillance as tensions between Beijing and Manila continue to rise.
What happened in the Oct. 2 raids?
Philippine authorities arrested 244 foreign nationals on Oct. 2, 2026, in raids on two suspected gaming hubs in Zamboanga Sibugay province on the island of Mindanao. Immigration officers worked alongside the National Bureau of Investigation and the Armed Forces of the Philippines during the simultaneous operations in the towns of Siay and Alicia.
In Siay, teams detained 113 people, including 110 Chinese nationals, two Cambodians and one person from Hong Kong. Another 131 foreigners were held in Alicia. Most were Chinese, while others came from Malaysia, Indonesia and Myanmar. The immigration bureau called it the largest bust of its kind so far this year.
Officers also seized computers, laptops and roughly 3,000 mobile phones that investigators believe were used in online scams. Authorities are still verifying the identities and nationalities of everyone taken into custody.
Why do experts link POGOs to spying?
The concern centers on location and access. The professor says gaming operations set up near military installations could give a foreign government convenient cover for tracking troop movements, collecting data and spreading disinformation.
He believes these activities may be part of what security specialists call gray zone operations. The term describes aggressive and coercive moves meant to intimidate a rival while staying below the threshold of open war. He also suspects that some POGOs have survived through collusion with rogue local officials.
No evidence made public so far ties the Zamboanga Sibugay sites to spying. The warning reflects a broader suspicion rather than a finding about these specific raids.
How has the Philippines tried to end offshore gaming?
The government has moved steadily against the industry. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. announced a ban in 2024, and lawmakers later passed a 2025 law that prohibits offshore gaming operations across the country.
Yet the raids keep coming. At their peak, POGOs employed thousands of workers from China and other countries, and many operations appear to have moved underground after losing their licenses.
Officials have repeatedly linked the hubs to fraud, human trafficking and other crimes. Immigration officers say they are coordinating with other agencies on possible trafficking violations connected to the latest arrests.
What happens to the foreigners arrested?
The detained foreigners are under investigation for working without proper visas, lacking documents and, in some cases, entering the country illegally. Those found in violation will face deportation proceedings, and anyone ordered deported will be blacklisted from returning.
The immigration bureau has pledged to keep pursuing foreign nationals tied to illegal operations so the Philippines does not become a base for crime.
Why does the South China Sea dispute matter?
The spying fears come amid a long standoff over the South China Sea. Chinese and Philippine vessels have clashed repeatedly near contested reefs, and Manila has deepened defense ties with the United States, including expanded American access to Philippine military sites.
That backdrop explains why many analysts see POGOs as more than a gambling problem. In their view, any operation run by foreign nationals near sensitive sites deserves close scrutiny.
For now, the raids in Siay and Alicia show the business has not fully disappeared. Whether the remaining POGOs work as listening posts or simply as scam centers is a question Philippine investigators may still need to answer.
