Philippine Authorities Arrest 244 Foreign Nationals in Raids on Illegal Gambling Venues on October 2, 2026

Philippine authorities raided two illegal gambling locations on Friday, October 2, 2026, and arrested 244 foreign nationals. For high-risk operators and PSPs, the point is not just the arrests: the Philippines is still actively shutting down offshore-style gambling enclaves after the POGO sector was disbanded in 2024.

1. The Philippine Immigration Bureau said the operations were carried out jointly by law enforcement, with military assistance, at two locations. The first raid led to the arrest of 110 Chinese nationals, two Cambodian nationals, and one Hong Kong resident.
2. A second location produced another 131 arrests, including workers from China, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Myanmar. Taken together, the two raids brought the total to 244 foreign nationals.
3. The authorities targeted venues tied to illegal offshore gambling. The report says these sites operate on the fringes of the country and form illegal gambling enclaves where human trafficking, illegal gambling, drugs, and other crimes take place.
4. Officials also seized mobile phones, SIM cards, laptops, and computers linked to the clandestine businesses. In this kind of enforcement action, those devices matter because they are the operational plumbing: access, coordination, and player handling all tend to live there.
5. The Philippines has been pushing to counter offshore gambling since the Philippine Online Gaming Operator (POGO) sector was disbanded in 2024. The enforcement focus is now on shutting down the remaining enclaves, with the report noting that Chinese nationals are often among those affected by human trafficking in these locations.