How to get a gambling licence in the Philippines

There is no stand-alone "online casino licence". A live domestic offering is a Gaming System Administrator (GSA) accreditation for the platform plus Gaming Venue Operator (GVO) licences for the venues whose registered players play on it. Both are granted separately for each game offering.

• A GSA must contract at least ten operational venues within twelve months of accreditation and twenty within twenty-four, or pay PhP 200,000 per missing venue per month.
• Licensed integrated-resort casinos may offer their own registered casino players an online platform under their own brand; the PAGCOR share on their electronic games is at most 22 per cent, exclusive of the franchise tax, for a resort with a US$200 million investment and its own system.
• Subleasing or sublicensing an accreditation means revocation and blacklisting (memorandum of 30 June 2025); the same memorandum cut the market to one main brand and six sub-brands per GSA.

PD 1869 gives PAGCOR the franchise both to operate and to license gambling casinos, gaming clubs and similar places. It runs the Casino Filipino chain itself, licenses everyone else, and takes a share of their gross gaming revenue as a regulatory fee.

• The Electronic Gaming Licensing Department (EGLD) processes GSA accreditations, venue licences and B2B accreditations and recommends them to the PAGCOR Board; the Gaming Licensing and Development Department handles land-based casinos and responsible gaming.
• PAGCOR’s licensing power does not reach games run under other franchises or special laws, nor cockfighting licensed by local governments (PD 1869 § 10 as amended by RA 9487).
• The Anti-Money Laundering Supervision and Enforcement Department implements the AMLC rules for licensees and runs the probity framework.

Laws that apply

• Presidential Decree No. 1869 (1983), the PAGCOR charter, as amended by Republic Act No. 9487 (2007)
• Republic Act No. 12312 (2025), the Anti-POGO Act: offshore gaming banned and criminalised, RA 11590 repealed
• Executive Order No. 74 (5 November 2024): all offshore gaming to cease by 31 December 2024
• PAGCOR Regulatory Framework for the Accreditation of Gaming System Administrators, Rev. 0 (2 October 2025)
• PAGCOR Regulatory Framework for the Issuance of Gaming License for Gaming Venues, Rev. 1 (22 November 2023); Gaming Venue Operations, Rev. 0 (6 November 2025)
• PAGCOR Regulatory Framework for the Accreditation of Gaming Affiliates and Support Service Providers, Rev. 1 (2 October 2025)
• PAGCOR Regulatory Framework for the Fees and Rates on Gaming Venue Operations, Rev. 5 (8 January 2026); Schedule of Fees (2 July 2026)
• RA 9160 (AMLA) as amended by RA 10927 (2017): casinos, including internet casinos, are covered persons
• National Internal Revenue Code as amended by RA 10963: 20% final tax on prizes and winnings

Only a corporation registered with the Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission may apply, for a GSA accreditation or a venue licence alike. Foreign investors incorporate locally within the Foreign Investment Negative List, whose List B restricts "all forms of gambling" except under PAGCOR investment agreements.

• Probity checks under the Probity Checking Framework (July 2025) cover the corporation, its directors, officers, shareholders holding 20 per cent or more and beneficial owners, at one of three levels set by risk; a third-party checker’s report is paid for by the applicant. A BSP-supervised payment institution may file its BSP licence instead (May 2026).
• Every director and officer files a notarised Personal Disclosure Statement covering five years of bankruptcies, convictions, pending cases and gaming-related orders, plus relatives in PAGCOR or government to the fourth civil degree.
• Changes of ownership, board or officers are reported within fifteen calendar days and trigger a fresh probity check; misrepresentation means denial and blacklisting.

Every figure here is PAGCOR’s own: the Schedule of Fees of 2 July 2026, the Fees and Rates Framework Rev. 5 of 8 January 2026 and the GSA framework. The share of gross gaming revenue is a regulatory fee under the licence; the tax is the 5 per cent franchise tax in the next section.

• The share and the audit fee are reported and remitted weekly: every Monday for the Sunday-to-Saturday week, with the GGR report filed the day before. Late remittance bears 12 per cent interest a year and a 25 per cent penalty.
• GGR is gross bets less payouts, excluding progressive-jackpot payouts but deducting the share of bets allotted to jackpot increments; complimentary credits wagered count in GGR, and cash rebates or cashback are marketing expenses that may not be deducted.
• The Minimum Guaranteed Fee was deferred twice for "sustained market contraction" and is charged as PAGCOR share whenever the percentage falls short of the floor.

PD 1869 § 13(2)(a) taxes gross revenue from gaming operations at 5 per cent "in lieu of all kinds of taxes, levies, fees or assessments", payable quarterly to the national government, and § 13(2)(b) extends the exemption to those in a contractual relationship with PAGCOR.

• The Supreme Court held in Bloomberry Resorts v. BIR (G.R. 212530, 2016) that the exemption reaches PAGCOR’s licensees for their gaming income; the BIR adopted that reading in RMC 32-2022, superseding its 2013 circular that had said the opposite.
• Gaming income is outside VAT (PAGCOR v. BIR, 2014); non-gaming and related-service income bears 25 per cent corporate income tax under the CREATE Act and VAT.
• Players are taxed, not exempt: RA 10963 § 24(B)(1) imposes a 20 per cent final tax on prizes and other winnings, withheld by the payor; only PCSO and Lotto prizes of PhP 10,000 or less are exempt.
• The offshore gaming tax of RA 11590 (5 per cent gaming tax, 25 per cent final tax on foreign employees) was repealed by RA 12312 § 18.

The GSA provides and hosts the electronic gaming system and the online gaming platform, integrates with PAGCOR’s systems, and may use only accredited suppliers and BSP-registered payment channels.

• Standards: GLI-11, GLI-19, GLI-21, GLI-23 and GLI-15 "or other equivalent standards" for RNG, machines and systems, certified by a laboratory holding ISO/IEC 17025 or 17065 and accredited by PAGCOR; certificates from other gaming jurisdictions are accepted as evidence, but PAGCOR’s inspection team still walks through the live system before the Notice to Commence.
• Every game needs the EGLD’s prior written approval on EG Form No. 9 with its rules, pay table, parameters and RTP certificate; the RTP band for slot-type games is 90 to under 97 per cent (88 to under 97 for electronic bingo), and a parameter change that alters RTP is a new game.
• Servers in a Tier 1 Philippine data centre or in the cloud, 99.99 per cent uptime redundancy and a disaster recovery plan; live-dealer studios for casino, bingo, specialty, numeric and poker games must be in the Philippines.
• Integration with PAGCOR’s Third Party Audit Platform and with the National Database of Restricted Persons through PAGCOR’s API (live since 8 September 2025); reports on demand, a weekly GGR report and a monthly report of active players by age bracket.
• No registrations or bets from outside the Philippines; all non-Philippine IP addresses blocked, declared under oath. Accepting a bet from abroad is fined PhP 500,000, then suspension and revocation.
• Payments only through systems registered with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas and accredited by PAGCOR; no credit cards and no cryptocurrency for funding or withdrawal; every new player posts an initial deposit of PhP 500.

PD 1869 § 14(4) bars persons under 21 and students of any school, college or university, and the frameworks apply the same bar online, together with government officials and members of the armed forces and police.

• Registration takes full name, date and place of birth, addresses, contact details, nationality, nature of work, source of income, a photo and one valid government ID (the PhilID and ePhilID since 16 April 2024); verification before the first withdrawal or within three days of registration, whichever comes first, by a selfie with the ID or by AI-driven eKYC with liveness detection.
• The National Database of Restricted Persons holds self-exclusions, family exclusions, licensee-initiated exclusions and government officials; 9,430 exclusions were in force at 30 June 2026 out of 12,886 recorded, and the check runs at registration and continuously through the API.
• Player-set daily, weekly or monthly betting limits must be offered; there is no mandatory deposit cap. Complaints must be acted on by the GSA within seventy-two hours.
• The 24/7 National Problem Gambling Helpline, (02) 8248-9568, must be displayed on every platform and, from 9 June 2026, on the template that replaced gambling advertising in out-of-home spaces.
• Staff training on problem gambling is a condition of the Gaming Employment License every gaming employee must hold.

PAGCOR approves marketing under the GSA framework’s Annex D, the Ad Standards Council screens the creative, and out-of-home gambling advertising has been prohibited since 15 August 2025.

• Every branded gambling advertisement is pre-screened by the Ad Standards Council under the PAGCOR–ASC memorandum of understanding of 16 July 2025 and carries the 21+ logo, the PAGCOR logo, the ASC reference number and the tagline "Gambling can be addictive. Know when to stop." (17 July 2025).
• All billboards, wallscapes and transit advertising were ordered removed by 15 August 2025, with no replacement by gambling promotions; only PAGCOR-approved institutional or responsible-gaming content may occupy the spaces.
• Promotions with prizes of PhP 1 million or more, system-based promotions and electronic raffles need EGLD approval fifteen business days ahead on EG Form No. 28; specific mechanics may appear only on the operator’s registered website, platform and closed social-media group; text blasts only to registered players and never to anyone in the NDRP.
• Deposit bonuses are capped at 100 per cent of deposits of PhP 5,000 or less and 120 per cent above; cash rebates at 1.5 per cent of turnover or deposits and cashback at 15 per cent of net losses (7 May 2026).
• Gambling advertising is kept off primetime television since 15 August 2025 (PAGCOR’s chairman put the window at 5:30 to 8 p.m. when announcing it in July 2025; the hours are not in a published instrument), and in February 2026 PAGCOR told the Senate a full-day television and radio ban was being studied.
• Google Ads admits state-licensed and certified Philippine gambling advertisers; Meta lists the Philippines among the markets where online gambling advertising is not permitted.

Casinos, "including internet and ship-based casinos", are covered persons under RA 9160 as amended by RA 10927 for their casino cash transactions; GSAs, venue operators and B2B providers comply as PAGCOR’s Anti-Money Laundering Supervision and Enforcement Department clarifies and supervises.

• A covered transaction is a single casino cash transaction above PhP 5,000,000 or its equivalent; covered transactions are reported within five working days and suspicious transactions within the next working day after suspicion is determined, electronically to the AMLC.
• A compliance officer of senior management status reporting to the board; AML records kept at least five years; an AML/CFT internal audit at least every two years; venue books and records kept six years.
• RA 12312 makes offshore gaming a predicate offence under the AMLA, and the AMLC’s Registration and Reporting Guidelines for Casinos (18 February 2018) govern registration with the Council.

Two penalties frameworks apply: one for gaming venue operators (Rev. 3) and one for remote gaming operations covering GSAs and B2B providers (Rev. 1, July 2024), both with escalating fines and suspension, and revocation for the gravest breaches.

• GSAs: PhP 100,000 to 300,000 then suspension for operating unapproved games, marketing without approval or concealing transactions; PhP 250,000 to 500,000 then revocation for unauthorised platforms, play by banned persons or bets from abroad; PhP 25,000 to 100,000 per offence for delayed payment of winnings.
• Venue operators: 25 per cent of a late remittance, PhP 100,000 or the amount for unpaid winnings, PhP 200,000 for unauthorised operation, PhP 50,000 per day for unauthorised suspension, PhP 30,000 for a late renewal or an unreported board change; 12 per cent interest on fines unpaid after fifteen days.
• The Board may suspend or cancel an accreditation where the GSA is no longer suitable, its directors or beneficial owners are convicted of anti-gambling or serious offences, it breaches a condition, is bankrupt or obtained accreditation by misrepresentation, with preventive suspension pending investigation and forfeiture of the cash deposit. A venue licence is revoked if the venue does not open within a year.
• PAGCOR does not block sites by its own order: it endorses illegal sites to the National Telecommunications Commission, the DICT, the PNP and the NBI, publishes warnings against sites misusing its name, and lists the legitimate platforms at pagcorguarantee.ph.

PAGCOR publishes its own numbers and its own lists. Read the lists before contracting with anyone.

• Gross gaming revenue of PhP 396.14 billion in 2025, up 6.39 per cent; the electronic and online segment PhP 201.12 billion (50.77 per cent), of which electronic games alone PhP 185.26 billion. 2026 has reversed: PhP 87.60 billion in the first quarter and PhP 88.13 billion in the second, after e-wallet shortcuts were delinked from gaming platforms.
• About sixty accredited Gaming System Administrators with their brands and domains (list of 27 August 2026), about 246 venue operators (31 August 2026), 25 gaming affiliates and a handful of support service providers per class, all as PDFs on the EGLD page; PAGCOR said in June 2025 there were more than sixty GSAs, at least seventy main brands and more than four hundred registered domains before the streamlining.
• Thirteen Senate bills of the 20th Congress, from SBN-30 (2 July 2025) to SBN-2493 (22 September 2026), would ban online gambling, prohibit its advertising, levy a harm-mitigation charge or (SBN-57) regulate it; all sit in committee.

The route for a platform operator serving players inside the Philippines: a GSA accreditation for each game offering, venue partners licensed to bring the players, and every supplier accredited. The stages are PAGCOR’s; no statutory clock runs on them.

1. 01

   Incorporate in the Philippines and capitalise

   SEC; PhP 100M authorised, PhP 25M paid-up, PhP 50M bank certification

   Register the corporation with the SEC within the Foreign Investment Negative List, capitalise it to the GSA framework’s Annex A figures and obtain the bank certification of at least PhP 50 million.

2. 02

   Decide the game offerings

   one accreditation per offering; PhP 5M each

   Each of traditional bingo, electronic bingo, electronic casino, sports betting, specialty games, numeric games and online poker is a separate accreditation with its own fee and cash deposit. The electronic-casino offering carries the higher Minimum Guaranteed Fee.

3. 03

   File the letter of intent and Annex A documents with the EGLD

   accreditation form; PhP 5,000,000 per offering

   A letter of intent to the PAGCOR Chairman and CEO with the accreditation application form, the articles and by-laws, the General Information Sheet, Personal Disclosure Statements for every director and officer, the sworn declarations on servers and IP blocking, and the non-refundable accreditation fee.

4. 04

   Pass probity

   Probity Checking Framework; third-party checker at your cost

   The corporation, its directors, officers, 20 per cent shareholders and beneficial owners are checked for identity, integrity, competence, financial capacity and criminal background at the level PAGCOR sets. Repute, association with persons of ill repute, insufficient experience or unstable finances are grounds for refusal.

5. 05

   Contract accredited suppliers only

   B2B framework; PhP 250,000 per service, PhP 1M deposit

   Game content providers, aggregators, the payment channel (BSP-registered as well), marketing, customer service, KYC and the testing laboratory must each hold PAGCOR accreditation before the GSA uses them.

6. 06

   Certify the system and every game

   GLI-11/19/21/23/15 or equivalent; RTP bands by game type

   Have the RNG, platform, terminals and cybersecurity certified by an accredited laboratory and file each game on EG Form No. 9 with its rules, pay table, parameters and RTP certificate for the EGLD’s prior written approval.

7. 07

   Build the integrations and the player controls

   audit platform; NDRP API; geo-blocking; KYC within three days

   Integrate with PAGCOR’s Third Party Audit Platform and the National Database of Restricted Persons, block every non-Philippine IP address, take the registration data set and verify identity within three days, offer player-set betting limits, and show the helpline and the log-in responsible-gaming message.

8. 08

   Walkthrough, Board approval, cash deposit

   PhP 25,000,000 or 50,000,000

   The EGLD inspects and tests the system, then recommends to the Board. After approval the performance cash deposit is posted and a second walkthrough in the live environment precedes the Notice to Commence.

9. 09

   Bring the venues

   ten operational venues within 12 months, twenty within 24

   Players are registered to licensed Gaming Venue Operators. Contract venues that hold or apply for a licence in your game offering (PhP 300,000 or 200,000 per offering plus inspection and processing fees) or pay PhP 200,000 per missing venue per month.

10. 10

    Register brand and domains, clear marketing

    one main brand, six sub-brands; ASC pre-screening

    Register the main brand, main domain and up to six sub-brands with the EGLD (changes on EG Form No. 53, three times at most). Every advertisement goes through the Ad Standards Council and carries the mandatory elements; nothing on billboards.

11. 11

    Operate: weekly remittance, monthly floor, annual filings

    15 to 30% of GGR + 10% audit fee; MGF from July 2026; 5% franchise tax

    Report GGR every Sunday and remit the share and audit fee every Monday, pay the Minimum Guaranteed Fee when the percentage falls short, file the business permit, GIS and signatory form by 31 May each year, report ownership changes within fifteen days, pay the franchise tax quarterly and keep every certificate current.

Tier-ordered: official government first, then practitioner, then trade media. Every primary figure was read from the in-force text on 23 Sep 2026.