Gambling in the Philippines for Tourists

If you are visiting the Philippines, or living here as an expat, the casino scene is one of the biggest in Asia. Manila alone has several huge integrated resorts where you can walk in, show ID, and be at a baccarat table within minutes of landing. This page covers what there is, where it is, what the games are like, and the few rules that matter to visitors.

Who can gamble in the Philippines: age and entry rules

The good news for visitors is simple: tourists and foreigners who are not residents of the Philippines are explicitly allowed to play in PAGCOR casinos¹. Bring your passport, since casinos use it to confirm your identity and visitor status, and you may be asked to complete Know Your Customer checks⁶.

The minimum age is 21, and this applies to every casino in the country as well as to online gambling⁷. Students enrolled in any Philippine school, college or university are also barred from casinos, no matter how old they are⁸.

A few groups are banned from playing in any casino in the Philippines⁸:

• Government officials connected directly with the operation of the government or its agencies
• Members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, including the Army, Navy, Air Force and the Philippine National Police
• Holders of a Gaming Employment License

These bans apply nationwide⁹.

For Philippine residents the rule is different from tourists: residents may play only if they had a gross income of at least P50,000 in the previous year, certified by the Bureau of Internal Revenue¹. If you are a foreigner living in the Philippines, note that the tourist exemption is written for non-residents, so long-term expats should expect to be treated under the resident rules. Each qualified person may bring up to two guests, provided the guests are at least 21 years old¹.

Where visitors can play: Manila's major casino resorts

Most visitors gamble in Metro Manila, where the big integrated resorts cluster in two areas. Entertainment City in Parañaque, on Manila Bay, is home to Okada Manila, Solaire and City of Dreams, while Newport World Resorts sits right beside Ninoy Aquino International Airport. You can read more in our guides to casinos in the Philippines and Entertainment City Manila.

Beyond the capital there are licensed casinos in Clark and Angeles, Cebu, and Cagayan de Oro's NUSTAR Resort and Casino, plus the government-run Casino Filipino branches in cities across the country. If you are staying in Manila, though, everything on this page is within a short taxi ride.

Getting around is easier than in many casino cities:

• Winford Resort and Casino Manila runs a free shuttle on a Bulacan and Caloocan route, with departures from the resort at 10:00 AM, 2:00 PM and 3:30 PM¹⁰
• Okada Manila offers complimentary round-trip airport transfers when you book your stay directly with the resort¹¹

Okada Manila: the country's largest gaming floor

Okada Manila calls itself the Philippines' premier entertainment destination, and it backs that up with the largest gaming floor in the country¹¹. It is a 5-star luxury integrated resort, one of Asia's largest, with 1,001 rooms¹².

The resort sits on New Seaside Drive in Entertainment City, Parañaque City, Metro Manila, just 5 km from Ninoy Aquino International Airport². That makes it possibly the most airport-convenient major casino in Asia; you can land, clear immigration, and be on the floor within half an hour in light traffic.

For transport questions, call +632 8888 0777². Book rooms only through the official booking site, www.booking.okadamanila.com, or reputable travel platforms; bookings made through unauthorized channels will not be honored and may be fraud¹⁴. The same warning applies to vouchers for buffets, dining, spa treatments and events sold through social media or unofficial sellers: they may be fake and may not be honored¹⁴.

Beyond the casino, the resort has over 40 dining venues, from open-fire cooking at Enbu to Korean at Goryeo and Filipino at Kiapo¹¹. Direct bookings come with perks such as up to 20% dining discounts at select restaurants¹¹. The resort's cashless system, Okash, covers stays, play, dining, shopping and relaxation, so you can leave your wallet in the room¹².

Table games and slots at Okada Manila

The numbers here are big even by Asian standards: about 400 table games spread across the gaming floor and VIP clubs, and over 3,000 electronic gaming machines³.

The table games cover the full range. Baccarat dominates, as it does across the Philippines, but you will also find roulette, blackjack and poker, plus variations including Sic Bo, Pai Gow Poker, Texas Hold'em Bonus Poker, Casino Hold'em Poker, Three Card Poker, Teen Patti, Pontoon, craps, Crapless Craps, Super Niu Niu Plus and Money Wheel¹⁷. If you are new to any of these, see our guide to casino table games in the Philippines.

Named slot titles include Duo Fu Duo Cai, Dragon Link, Choy's Kingdom, Coin Combo, Mighty Cash, Lightning Link, 5 Dragon Gold, Jin Ji Bao Xi and FAFAFA, among many others²⁰. The machines are multi-currency, which saves visitors the hassle of converting cash first²¹. Okada Manila claims the biggest progressive jackpot in the country at its tables¹¹.

While you play, floor servers bring free wine and selected alcoholic drinks to active players²⁰. For high-stakes visitors, the exclusive VIP clubs, Perlas, Maharlika and the VIP Club, offer elite gaming experiences away from the main floor¹³. For more on how these floors compare, see our pages on baccarat in the Philippines and slot machines in the Philippines.

Newport World Resorts: games and hotels near the airport

Newport World Resorts, operated by Travellers International Hotel Group, is the other big name for visitors, and its location is its superpower: the casinos sit in the Newport City entertainment area directly across from the airport terminals²².

The games include slot machines, table games and electronic table games, with live baccarat and slots as the licensed core offerings⁴. The casino is open around the clock, all year, so it works for red-eye arrivals and long layovers alike²³. As everywhere in the country, gambling is for those 21 and over only⁴.

The resort is also a hotel destination in its own right, with five brands on site⁴:

• Manila Marriott Hotel
• Hilton Manila
• Sheraton Manila Hotel
• Hotel Okura Manila
• Holiday Inn Express Manila Newport City

You can stay, play and fly without ever leaving Newport City. The NWR hotline is (02) 7908-8888²⁵.

Newport also runs a licensed online platform, Newport World Casino, at newportworldcasino.online, offering live baccarat and slots²². Hann Casino Resort in Clark is another licensed operator with live gaming tables and sports betting²⁶.

Where to play live poker

Poker players have dedicated rooms as well as casino floors. PAGCOR's register of licensed poker operators lists Prime Poker Club Manila and Masters Poker Club, both operating poker rooms in the capital²⁸. The Metro Card Club is another long-standing Manila venue, and casino floors such as Okada Manila spread poker among their table games¹⁷. For the wider scene, see poker in the Philippines and poker tournaments in the Philippines.

One rule matters to visitors who like online poker: remote play poker is allowed only for foreign nationals who are physically outside the Philippines. Filipino citizens cannot play it at all, wherever they are located²⁹. So you can enjoy Manila's live poker rooms during your trip, but you cannot legally log into a remote play poker platform while on Philippine soil.

Online gambling: what visitors can legally access

Online gambling in the Philippines works differently from the land-based side, and the rules turn on where you are and who you are.

Only gambling regulated by PAGCOR is considered legal; everything outside PAGCOR's jurisdiction is illegal³⁰. For Philippine residents, that means local online casino play is limited to PAGCOR-operated sites, though players are not fined for joining offshore operators, and international online casinos that accept players from the Philippines are widely used⁵. Cryptocurrency transactions are completely legal in the country, which is why many offshore sites accept Filipino players with Bitcoin⁵.

For foreign nationals, the key rule is the reverse of what you might expect: foreign nationals while within Philippine territory are not allowed to participate in the online gaming offered by PAGCOR licensees³¹. Offshore gaming platforms are likewise limited to players located outside the Philippines who are not Filipino citizens³¹. In plain terms, your online gambling options shrink while you are physically in the country, even as your casino options expand.

PAGCOR warns the public that betting on illegal gambling sites is a criminal act for the bettor, so stick to platforms on PAGCOR's published lists of authorized online remote gaming platforms and accredited service providers³⁰. For more detail, see online gambling in the Philippines and PAGCOR-licensed online casinos.

Responsible gaming and self-exclusion

Every major operator in the country runs a responsible gaming program. Newport World Resorts is an advocate of responsible gaming, with the reminder that gambling can be addictive and to "know when to stop"²³. Winford Resort and Casino Manila's program covers information dissemination, assistance for gaming members seeking professional help, and exclusion procedures²⁷.

Self-exclusion works nationwide. A gambling patron who wants to stop playing in all casinos in the Philippines can apply by completing a form and submitting the required documents; family members of a patron may also apply for exclusion under the conditions in the Code of Practice²⁵. Banning orders, whether self-exclusion, family exclusion or imposed by a licensee, apply across the country⁹.

If you or someone you are traveling with needs help, PAGCOR's responsible gambling helpline is (02) 8538-9090¹⁹. Okada Manila's responsible gaming team can be reached by email, and the resort posts the PAGCOR helpline on its gaming pages¹⁶. More resources are in our guide to gambling help in the Philippines.