The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) issued a revised Casino Regulatory Manual for licensed land-based casinos, effective August 13, 2025. The document, Revision No. 0, runs to 332 pages and applies to all licensed casinos under PAGCOR's jurisdiction.
PAGCOR said the revision consolidates previously separate manuals into a single framework. In its executive summary, the regulator described the scope of the change:
"This revised Casino Regulatory Manual (CRM) represents a major regulatory initiative to unify and streamline the rules governing Licensed Land-Based Casinos under PAGCOR's jurisdiction."
The manual states that it covers casino layout and design, internal controls, surveillance, responsible gaming, compliance procedures and reporting requirements. PAGCOR said existing provisions were updated for clarity and uniform application, and that the revision supports its goal of aligning with international standards.
The manual sets out definitions and formulas that govern casino floors.
- It defines gross gaming revenues as the total of all sums received in a month from gaming, less sums paid out as winnings, and gives the formula as Bill Drop plus Electronic In, minus Cancelled Credits, minus Electronic Out, minus Jackpots.
- It defines a junket player as an individual who holds a foreign passport and is invited to play in junket rooms or areas.
- It defines a junket operator or promoter as a corporation, partnership or one person corporation registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission and registered by PAGCOR to conduct junket operations.
- Approved junket tables are calculated as 25 percent of regular gaming tables plus bonus gaming tables, with bonus tables designated purely for junket players.
On casino layout, the manual caps the gaming area at no more than 7.5 percent of total auditable gross floor area, excluding residential developments, office developments and parking buildings under concession. It states that the online gaming area is not included in the 7.5 percent computation, and that gaming capacity excludes poker room tables. It gives footprints of 27 square meters for a gaming table and a poker room table, and 3 square meters for an electronic gaming machine. For integrated resorts, the manual states a minimum gross floor area or construction floor area of 250,000 square meters, with residential condominiums, office developments and parking structures for occupants not creditable against that requirement.
The manual also covers electronic gaming machines, gaming equipment, casino management systems, surveillance, and gaming chips and plaques. It includes a section headed "Prohibition on Operating a Casino" and provisions on bingo cards, bingo sessions and bingo link games.
What it means for players
The manual is a rulebook for operators, not a set of player entitlements, and it does not change what games are offered or how they are played. Its practical effect for people who gamble in Philippine casinos is indirect: floor layouts, table and machine numbers, surveillance standards and internal controls at licensed venues now sit under one consolidated document rather than several. The definitions matter for junket play in particular. The manual ties junket tables to a formula based on regular tables and defines junket players by foreign passport, which concerns the segregated junket rooms some casinos operate. Anyone checking whether a venue is licensed can use the guide to checking land-based casinos and the guide to verifying a gambling license. For general context on gambling in the country, see Can I gamble in the Philippines?, and for game-level detail, casino table games in Philippine casinos.
What happens next
The manual took effect on August 13, 2025. No further dates, transition periods or compliance deadlines are set out in the document text reviewed.
