The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation oversees and regulates the country’s gaming laws and regulations, which are among the most sophisticated in the world (PAGCOR). Did you know that the only nation in South East Asia to regulate internet casinos is the Philippines?

The only government agency in the Philippines with the power to decide on gaming licences for both brick-and-mortar and internet casinos is PAGCOR. PAGCOR is an important pillar to the government’s national budget.

PAGCOR gives back more than half of the money it makes to the national treasury, which it uses to support charitable causes, sports grants, and programmes that combat drug and alcohol abuse. Additionally, funds that are still held by PAGCOR are used to support social needs like housing and jobs.

Not widely known, is that PAGCOR has been in existence for over thirty years! Naturally, when it first began, its purview only applied to land-based casinos. The emergence of the internet and gambling websites is a relatively new development, and department policies are constantly being updated to fit the demands of the nation.

This is not shocking because technology has accelerated change in a world that was previously slow to adapt. PAGCOR’s profitability began to turn around in 2017, when gross income for the year surpassed a staggering P60 billion. The licensing of online casinos was most likely the source of the cash.

Legality and Philippines Casino Licensing

As was already noted, gambling has been carefully regulated in the Philippines since the beginning of the sector. To be more precise, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation is the first and primary regulatory organization in charge of overseeing such actions on Philippine soil (PAGCOR).

It was established in 1976 with the backing of the country’s then-president Ferdinand Marcos and continues to function as a wholly owned government agency that controls the aforementioned services to this day. The majority of the Philippine territory is covered by this organisation; however, another organisation explicitly refers to the enclosed commercialised grounds.

Due to its stringent regulations, residents are not permitted to participate in the tourists’ gambling activities at the hotels and resorts that are featured there. This is the Cagayan Freeport region, where a certain organisation licences and oversees the casino operators on its lands.

Licensed Casinos

The Pagcor’s regulatory rule is important to the vision of the country taking their place among one of the top gaming jurisdictions in the world. In general, PAGCOR seeks to

• Promote fairness and integrity in the conduct of games
• Maintain an orderly and predictable regulatory environment
• Enforce licence terms and conditions
• Provide a foundation for responsible gambling
• Disallow minors and those who are financially vulnerable from entering gaming establishments
• Prevent licenced gaming establishments from being used for illegal activities.