How to Check if a Casino Is Licensed in Asia

What a casino license actually tells you

A land-based casino license is not a single document on a wall. In most of Asia it is a bundle of permissions: the right to run specific games, in a specific building, under a named regulator that inspects the venue and can pull the license if the operator breaks the rules. When you ask "is this casino licensed," what you are really asking is whether a government body you could contact has put its name behind the place.

That matters for practical reasons. A licensed venue has to answer to someone. If the games are rigged, the staff cheat, or the operator simply vanishes with the chips, there is an authority with the power to investigate. An unlicensed venue has no such backstop, and in several parts of Asia unlicensed gambling rooms exist alongside the legal ones, so the check is worth making before you sit down.

The good news is that Asia's casino regulators are unusually public. PAGCOR in the Philippines publishes its licensee list as a downloadable document¹. Macau's DICJ, the body that watches over the world's largest casino market, lists phone numbers and an email address for direct inquiries⁴. Japan has set up an entire Casino Regulatory Commission even though its first casino has not opened yet². The pattern across the region is the same: a named regulator, a published record, and a way to ask.

If you want the broader picture of who licenses what across the region, including online operators, see gambling regulators and licenses in Asia. For the mechanics of looking up any operator, our guide on how to check a gambling license walks through the steps, and public gambling license registers lists where each regulator files its records.

Who regulates casinos in each country

Asia's land-based casino industry is concentrated in a dozen jurisdictions, and each one assigns oversight to a different body. Here is the short map of who issues the casino licenses you would be checking.

A few things stand out. The Philippines is the only jurisdiction in the region with a fully public, downloadable licensee register aimed at ordinary players¹. Macau relies more on the fact that its six concessionaires are household names, but the DICJ will still answer questions directly⁴. Japan is the odd case: the regulator exists, the framework exists, and the first integrated resort at Osaka Yumeshima has been certified, but the casino business is not yet open, so there is no implementation report on it at present².

One warning applies everywhere. Fake license claims are common in this part of the world, and a certificate on a website proves nothing by itself. Our page on fake gambling license claims covers the cloned seals and invented license numbers to watch for, and regulator warning lists explains how to use the blacklists regulators publish.

Checking a PAGCOR license in the Philippines

The Philippines is the easiest place in Asia to answer the question "is this casino licensed," because PAGCOR does the work for you. The regulator publishes a List of Licensees for Gaming Venue Operations as a PDF on its website, and the version current as of August 31, 2026 is the operative record¹. If a venue claims a PAGCOR license and does not appear on that list, treat the claim as false.

Two things to know about the list. First, PAGCOR states plainly that the list does not certify that each licensee offers all PAGCOR-approved game offerings¹. A venue can be licensed and still not spread every game, so the list answers the licensing question, not the "do they have baccarat tonight" question. Second, the same verification habit applies online: PAGCOR has publicly urged players to check its list of licensees on the PAGCOR website before accessing offshore gaming sites, after a wave of fake sites borrowed its name⁶.

PAGCOR's own footprint is large. The state-run firm operates 13 PAGCOR branches in major cities across the three major islands, plus 23 members-only VIP clubs⁸. Beyond its own venues, it licenses private casino operators, and the licensee list covers both categories¹.

Who may actually play is a separate question from licensing. Under the rules governing PAGCOR casinos, only tourists and foreigners who are not residents of the Philippines, and residents with a net income for the previous year of at least P50,000.00 certified by the Bureau of Internal Revenue, may play⁷. The same entry rule appears in the later charter documents⁹. So a Filipino player checking a license should also be aware that entry to PAGCOR casino floors has an income condition attached.

On winnings, PAGCOR reports that 5 percent of winnings goes to the BIR as franchise tax, taken at the operator level rather than by you at the cage¹⁰. For a deeper dive into the biggest private licensees, see which companies hold PAGCOR Entertainment City licenses.

Japan: a regulator with nothing to regulate yet

Japan is the one jurisdiction in Asia where the license check comes back empty, and that is the correct answer. The country's casino law permits casino business only as an exception to the Penal Code prohibition, as a privilege under the IR Development Law¹¹. The Casino Regulatory Commission was created to administer that exception, and its Enforcement Rules list the permitted casino game types, which include the money wheel¹².

But no casino is open. The Osaka Yumeshima integrated resort has been certified, and the regulator's own reporting on the facility notes that the casino business is not yet open, so there is no particular implementation report on it at present². In plain terms: if you are in Japan and someone offers you a licensed casino, there is no such place. Anything operating as a casino in Japan today is unlicensed and illegal.

Two related points are worth knowing. First, Japanese law does not punish Japanese nationals for gambling at casinos abroad, since the acts occur entirely outside Japan¹³. A Japanese resident who plays at a licensed casino in Manila or Macau is not doing anything punishable at home. Second, when the first Japanese casino does open, the license to look for will be an integrated resort certification issued under the framework the Casino Regulatory Commission administers¹². For the types of permission involved, see types of gambling licenses explained.

Cambodia: casino-only licensing and the online suspension

Cambodia licenses land-based casinos for foreigners and tourists, who are allowed to gamble at regulated gaming venues¹⁴. Cambodian citizens are a different matter: gambling is prohibited for citizens, and while using foreign sites can constitute illegal gambling, authorities rarely prosecute locals for it¹⁴.

The big recent change is online. Cambodia suspended online gambling operations conducted from casinos across the country starting in October 2026³. The suspension applies to online gambling activities operated or broadcast from casino premises, while ordinary casinos will not be closed³. The suspension is described as temporary, though no end date has been given³. The practical effect for a visitor: a Cambodian casino floor can still be licensed and open, but any online or live-streamed product running out of that casino is off the table.

That leaves the offshore question. Online casinos that accept Cambodian players are typically licensed in jurisdictions like Panama, Anjouan, Mwali, Curaçao, the Isle of Man and Malta, not in Cambodia itself¹⁴. Those licenses are real licenses, but they are not Cambodian ones, and a Cambodian license check will never confirm them. If you encounter such a site, our guides on how to verify a Curacao gambling license and how to verify an Anjouan gaming license explain where those registers live.

Macau: DICJ oversight and how to contact the regulator

Macau is the largest casino market in the world, and its regulator, the DICJ (Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau), is the reference point for every license question in the territory. The casinos themselves operate under concession contracts with the government; the historical concession legislation names the authorized gaming venues, from Casino Lisboa and Macau Palace to the Jai Alai Casino and the Golden Dragon Casino, among others¹⁵. Modern concession documents, such as the contract covering Casino Wynn Palace, list each casino as an authorized location for the operation of games of chance under the concession¹⁶. Macau's casinos are open 24 hours¹⁷.

For a visitor, the DICJ is contactable, which is more than can be said for many regulators. General inquiries go to telephone (853) 2856 9262, fax (853) 2837 0296, or email inquiry@dicj.gov.mo⁴. The office sits at 12th Floor A, China Plaza, 762-804 Avenida da Praia Grande, Macau.

The DICJ also runs the territory's exclusion system, which is worth understanding because it shows how hands-on the regulator is. Under Article 6 of Law No. 10/2012, the DICJ director may bar a person from all or some casinos for a maximum of two years at the person's own request, or on confirmation of a request by a spouse, ascendant, descendant or second-degree collateral relative¹⁸. An applicant can apply for exclusion from all or some of the casinos in Macao¹⁹. If the application is submitted to the DICJ through one of the casinos, the DICJ will contact the applicant to verify personal details, and the person must attend the DICJ office in person, bringing both parties' original ID and a recent photo²⁰. Forms are available from the DICJ, the Social Welfare Bureau's Chi Ngai Centre, and any Macau gaming casino, or downloadable from the DICJ website²⁰. For exclusion matters specifically, the DICJ lists telephone (853) 8397 3286, fax (853) 2871 2331 and email exclusion@dicj.gov.mo²⁰.

Because Macau's six concessionaires are large, listed companies, outright fake casinos are not the risk there that they are elsewhere. The more useful check is which concession a venue belongs to, since every legal casino floor in Macau operates under one of them¹⁶.

Singapore and South Korea: the short version

Singapore and South Korea sit at opposite ends of the licensing spectrum, but both are easy to check because each has very few licensed venues.

South Korea permits around a dozen foreigner-only casinos, but exactly one casino where Korean citizens may play: Kangwon Land, which describes itself as the only casino in the country and the largest in the country⁵. That makes the Korean license check almost trivial. If you are a Korean citizen, the only licensed venue available to you is Kangwon Land. If you are a visitor, the foreigner-only casinos are licensed individually, and the operator's documentation is the thing to ask for. For the wider picture, see gambling in South Korea.

Singapore's casino market is the two integrated resorts, and the licensing story is correspondingly simple. The resorts operate under a national regulatory framework, and the exclusion system shows how it works in practice: individuals may apply to exclude themselves from one or more of the following gambling activities in Singapore, namely the casinos (Resorts World Sentosa and Marina Bay Sands), jackpot machine rooms at private clubs, and Singapore Pools online betting²¹. The National Council on Problem Gambling administers exclusions and visit limits, with a step-by-step guide to self-exclusion published by the council²¹. Because the venue list is two names long, verifying that you are in a licensed Singapore casino takes seconds. See gambling in Singapore.

Games you can expect in licensed venues

A license tells you the venue is legitimate; the game list tells you what you will actually find on the floor. Across Asia's licensed casinos, the core offering is remarkably consistent.

In the Philippines, PAGCOR venues spread the following games⁸:

• baccarat
• blackjack
• roulette
• craps
• big and small
• pai gow
• stud poker
• slot machines
• Super 6
• Pontoon
• War
• Genuine Pairs
• in-house bingo

Baccarat dominates everywhere in the region, and the Philippine list is a fair proxy for what you will find in Macau, Cambodia and Singapore as well.

Japan's permitted list, set out in the Enforcement Rules of the Casino Regulatory Commission, includes the money wheel among the casino game types that may be offered once a resort opens¹². The full permitted list is longer, but the point for a license check is that the games themselves are specified in the rules, so a licensed Japanese casino will only offer games the Commission has approved.

Macau's concession contracts name each authorized location for the operation of games of chance, which is the formal way of saying the license covers the building and the games together¹⁶. The historical concession legislation took the same approach, listing nine authorized venues from Casino Lisboa onward¹⁵.

One caution: a license does not guarantee a game. PAGCOR's own licensee list carries the note that it does not certify that each licensee offers all PAGCOR-approved game offerings¹. Call ahead if you are traveling for a specific game.

Where license checking stops

A license check answers one question: is this venue under a regulator's authority? It does not answer every question, and it is worth knowing where the check stops.

First, disputes. A regulator licenses and supervises, but resolving your individual complaint is a separate process, and it varies by jurisdiction. Macau's DICJ will take calls and emails about casinos⁴, and PAGCOR publishes contact channels for information and assistance, including (02) 8248-9568²². For how to raise a complaint properly, see how to complain to a gambling regulator, and for the independent routes that exist alongside regulators, gambling ADR.

Second, offshore operators. A site licensed in Curaçao or Malta that accepts players in Cambodia is licensed, but not by any authority in Cambodia¹⁴. The same logic applies across the region: an Asian regulator's register will never list an offshore operator, and finding the site on a foreign regulator's register is the only meaningful check. Our page on online gambling licenses issued by Asian regulators covers which Asian regulators license online products at all.

Third, suspended licenses. Cambodia's October 2026 suspension shows how quickly the picture can change: casino-based online operations were suspended nationwide while the casinos themselves stayed open³. A venue can be licensed for one thing and not another. If a license has been suspended or revoked, see what happens when a gambling license is suspended or revoked.

If gambling stops being fun

Every regulator in this article runs some form of exclusion or support program, and using one is part of what a licensed venue offers.

In the Philippines, PAGCOR provides patrons who feel that relatives or they themselves are developing a problem with gaming the option of barring them from the gaming venue or site²³. Regardless of where the application was applied, the self-exclusion order is enforced in all PAGCOR operated and regulated gaming facilities²³. PAGCOR's Online Self-Exclusion Application portal lets you restrict your access to all casinos and gaming sites nationwide²⁴. The regulator has also ordered gambling ads replaced with problem gambling helpline materials, and the National Problem Gambling Helpline serves as a 24/7 support platform²⁵.

In Singapore, the National Council on Problem Gambling runs the helpline at 1800-6-668-668²⁶ and a separate hotline at 6354 8154²⁷. In Hong Kong, the Problem Gambling Helpline is 1834 633, supported by all four counseling and treatment centers²⁸, and the Ping Shan counseling center can be reached at 6829 8764²⁹. In Japan, a consultation helpline for people worried about becoming absorbed in buying betting tickets operates at 0570-007-221, Monday to Friday except national holidays and the year-end/New Year period³⁰. In the Philippines, PAGCOR takes responsible gaming questions at (02) 8248-9568 and by email at ResponsibleGaming@pagcor.ph, which is also the contact for self-exclusion.

None of this requires you to have a problem before you use it. Exclusion applications in Macau can be made by a relative with the person's confirmation¹⁸, and in the Philippines PAGCOR handles self-exclusion requests through ResponsibleGaming@pagcor.ph. For what licensed operators are required to do for players generally, see licensed operator player protection rules.