PAGCOR tells House committee it will launch player protection app

The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation will launch an application that lets online gaming players use only licensed and regulated platforms, the agency told the House of Representatives on Monday, August 24¹. PAGCOR Chairman and CEO Alejandro H. Tengco gave the plan to the House Committee on Appropriations during the agency's budget hearing, and said the app is to launch before the end of the year¹.

Tengco said the app has two purposes, curbing illegal gambling and keeping players on platforms licensed and regulated by PAGCOR¹. He put the scale of the problem at about half of the market: "Around 50 percent of online gaming sites accessed in the Philippines are illegal, and keeping players within the regulated sector has been an ongoing challenge for PAGCOR and our law enforcement partners," he said¹.

Tengco said playing through a licensed operator gives players a way to seek redress when disputes arise¹. In Filipino, he said: "Basta't may lisensya ang pinaglalaruan ninyo, mayroong process of resolution kung magkakaproblema kayo"¹.

The app follows the PAGCOR Guarantee page, an online verification facility launched in 2025 that lets the public check whether an online gaming provider is licensed¹. PAGCOR said it is also coordinating with the Department of Information and Communications Technology, the National Telecommunications Commission and the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordination Center in prosecuting illegal online gaming operators, including the payment channels they use¹.

Neither source states the app's name, its release date beyond "before the end of the year," which app stores will carry it, or how it will identify licensed sites. No budget figure for the app was reported¹. The Inquirer version of the story carries an "Advertorial" label and states it is brought to you by PAGCOR; the PAGCOR version is the agency's own headline page¹.

What it means for players

For anyone gambling online in the Philippines, the stated aim is a single place to confirm whether a site holds a PAGCOR license, rather than checking the separate PAGCOR Guarantee page. Until the app exists, the verification route remains the Guarantee page, and the general test of whether a site is licensed or not is set out in our guide to how to check a PAGCOR gaming license.

The practical difference PAGCOR draws is what happens after a dispute. On a licensed platform, Tengco says, there is a resolution process; on an unlicensed one, the agency describes no such route¹. That distinction, and how risk differs between the two, is covered in licensed vs unlicensed online casino.

The 50 percent figure applies to sites accessed in the Philippines, so it covers locals, expats and visitors gambling from Philippine connections alike. PAGCOR's stated enforcement focus includes the payment channels used by unlicensed operators, which is where deposits and withdrawals pass¹. Reporting routes for fake sites and unlicensed operators are listed in gambling scams and safety in Asia, and the wider picture of who licenses what in the region is in gambling regulators and licenses in Asia. The obligations that fall on licensed operators are set out in what licensed gambling operators must do to protect players.

What happens next

PAGCOR says the app will launch before the end of the year¹. No specific date has been reported. The agency says it continues coordinating with the DICT, the NTC and the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordination Center on prosecutions of illegal operators and their payment channels¹.