Poker Writer
The Philippines gaming regulator, PAGCOR, will use an application to steer online gaming players from unlicensed to licensed platforms. It will aim to protect players amid the growth of illegal online gaming platforms. The distinction between licensed and unlicensed can be a confusing one, and this app will attempt to improve visibility for gamblers.
PAGCOR Chairman and CEO Alejandro Tengco described the purpose of the app:
The PAGCOR app has two main objectives: First, to curb illegal online gambling and second, to protect players by ensuring that they play only on platforms licensed and regulated by PAGCOR.
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The Philippines Trying to Change Their Gambling Narrative
The illegal online gaming market in the Philippines is huge, with around half of all gambling sites falling under that umbrella.
Philippine Offshore Gambling Operators (POGOs) began in 2003 and quickly became a major business in the archipelago nation as well. A large portion of them cater to the Chinese market, who use the islands as a haven for illegal gambling.
Still, the culture around gambling in the Philippines is largely one built on underground operators.
Former President Rodrigo Duterte legalized online gambling and began licensing the POGOs in 2016. At their peak, as many as one-third of the half-million workers for POGOS were Chinese citizens. But they quickly become hubs for Chinese crime.
The crime syndicates targeted mainland China and operated out of the Philippines. Issues such as illegal worker recruitment became a thorny point between China and the Philippines in the late 2010s through the early 2020s. Chinese citizens decamped to the islands with tourist visas and worked cheaply, with few resources for living arrangements.
There were numerous raids in the early 2020s, with authorities attempting to get a handle on illegal operators who took advantage of POGOs.
POGOs Banned in 2024
The entire landscape changed in 2024 when President Ferdinand Marcos announced a total ban on all POGOs during his State of the Nation Address in July. An executive order was then signed in November of that year to stop new applications and renewals. By the end of 2024, all of the legal POGOs were ordered to shut down completely.
With the ban still relatively recent, illegal sites remain popular among users in the country. The legal gambling options include licensed platforms issued by PAGCOR. The gaming regulator’s goal is to make licensed options the default, rather than the illegal ones people have grown accustomed to over the years.
This “channelization” in online gambling has become an ever-growing talking point in the industry. As more governments sanction legal online gambling, they seek ways to ensure their citizens play at licensed operators. Otherwise, it produces no taxes for the government. The Philippines’ PAGCOR app will be the latest tool aimed at that goal.
