The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) disclosed on August 20, 2025 that it has been enforcing a moratorium on new licenses for online gaming sites and apps for more than a year, under a board resolution dated March 1, 20241. Pagcor chair Alejandro Tengco gave the account during a House committee on appropriations hearing on the agency's 2026 budget1.
Tengco said the freeze predates the wider crackdown on offshore operators. He said the moratorium came well before President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. announced in his third State of the Nation Address that he would ban Philippine offshore gaming operations (Pogos), an industry linked to trafficking, smuggling and other high crimes and human rights violations1. Since then, he said, "100 percent" of the 48 Pogos that once held Pagcor licenses have been canceled1.
"We only entertain those who have applied prior to March 1. 2024."
Tengco said there are now over 70 licensed online gaming sites and apps, including BingoPlus, ArenaPlus and OKBet1. He said canceled Pogos are still monitored, with office visits to confirm they have stopped operating, and that "at present, only law enforcement agencies have the power to find, hunt, and shut down illegal Pogos"1.
Online gaming remains the largest part of Pagcor's revenue despite the freeze. Tengco said he expected the agency to net P60 billion to P62 billion from online gaming in 2025, around 62 percent of total revenue, a tenfold rise from the P6 billion earned from the industry in 20211.
| Item | Figure |
|---|---|
| Moratorium resolution date | March 1, 20241 |
| Licensed online gaming sites and apps | Over 701 |
| Pogos canceled | 48, or "100 percent"1 |
| Expected 2025 online gaming revenue | P60 billion to P62 billion1 |
| Share of Pagcor total revenue | Around 62 percent1 |
| Online gaming revenue, 2021 | P6 billion1 |
What it means for players
The moratorium applies to new licenses, not to the operators already holding them, so the more than 70 licensed sites and apps named in the hearing continue to sit inside the regulated market1. Players in the Philippines can check whether a site or app holds a current Pagcor license using our guide to checking a PAGCOR gaming license, and our overview of online casinos in the Philippines sets out how the licensed market is structured.
Because no new licenses are being granted, any site or app that launched after March 1, 2024 and claims Philippine licensing has not been reported as holding one. Our explainer on the risks of playing on unlicensed gambling sites covers what that means in practice, and the wider regulators and licenses section explains who licenses what across Asia and how to verify it.
The canceled Pogo licenses are a separate category from online gaming licenses, and Tengco said enforcement against illegal Pogos now rests with law enforcement agencies rather than Pagcor1. Calls to ban online gambling have intensified in recent weeks following reports of Filipinos falling into financial ruin, and the search for missing "sabungeros" has renewed attention on abuses linked to online gambling1.
What happens next
Pagcor's budget for 2026 was under consideration at the House committee on appropriations hearing where the moratorium was disclosed1. No end date for the moratorium has been reported, and no date has been reported for any change to the licensing freeze.
Sources1 sources
- Pagcor: No new online gaming licenses since March 2024, newsinfo.inquirer.net
