Trade clarifies jobs of offshore game operators

The Trade Department clarified over the weekend that Philippine offshore gaming operators, or POGOs, operate a form of entertainment and should be not confused as a business processing outsourcing industry.

The department said POGOs, however, “could impose the required minimum health protocol standard” once they reopen business.

“They are online gaming. There are similarities with BPOs in terms of the use of IT and online platform in their business models—not brick and mortar, no physical interaction with clients and customers,” it said.

The IT and Business Process Association of the Philippines issued a statement citing the differences between the BPO and POGOs.

While BPOs and POGOs share offshoring nature, POGOs operate from the Philippines since the betting or gambling functions are restricted from their respective shores, the group said.

The two sectors operate with two separate regulators. BPOs are registered with the Philippine Economic Zone Authority or the Board of Investments, while POGOs are lodged with Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp.

BPO companies create jobs that are of much higher value, requiring a range of technical, domain and soft skills. They are very different from the game development sector, which is sometimes mistaken as IT.

BPOs come to the Philippines to leverage the country’s human capital—English proficency and technical skills, customer service orientation and ability to adapt to foreign cultures.

This, in turn, has directly benefitted millions of Filipinos by providing them with better employment opportunities throughout the years.

In the case of POGOs, majority of their staffing come from foreign labor brought into the country to support their operations.

POGOs are also not part of the annual IT-BPO headcount and revenue report, which in 2019 ended with 1.3 million direct employees and $26.3 billion in revenues.