Online gambling regulation

Online gambling has become such a lucrative industry in the Philippines and is now one of the biggest sources of funds for the government.

- MARY ANN LL. REYES

Whether it is online casino, online sports betting, online bingo, or mobile gambling, e-gambling has become so popular that it has now surpassed traditional or walk-in casinos as a source of revenue for the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR).

And why not? Ads for these gambling platforms are everywhere on social media, on massive billboards along major highways featuring celebrities, and even on television. There are also pop-up ads on mobile phones as well as on digital payment gateways that even provide the links to participate in these games.

Anyone with a smartphone or a laptop can easily place a bet by just a few clicks.

PAGCOR regulates all games of chance and issues licenses to all gaming operations within the country. It issues licenses to local gaming operations conducted on-site as well as online and these include electronic bingo, e-casino, online poker games, online sports betting, to name a few.

As of July 30 this year, PAGCOR has approved around 2,250 electronic games that include sports betting (covering all kinds of sports from basketball to darts to swimming), e-casino games (baccarat, blackjack, roulette, among others), e-bingo games, specialty games, but mostly e-casino games.

PAGCOR, on its website, also has a list of authorized online gaming websites that offer e-casino games, e-bingo games, sports betting, specialty games and online poker games.

With electronic gaming on the rise, PAGCOR expects up to P480 billion in gross gaming revenue (GGR) for 2025. At the end of the first quarter of 2025, its gross gaming revenues or revenues that gambling companies generate from those who place bets, surged by 27.44 percent to P104.12 billion, with PAGCOR chair and CEO Al Tengco saying also that for the first time, revenues from e-gaming surpassed those from traditional casinos as of end-March.