Which Companies Hold PAGCOR Entertainment City Licenses

Who may hold a PAGCOR license and who is barred

PAGCOR is the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation, the state body that both operates its own casinos and regulates the private ones. Entertainment City, the cluster of integrated resorts on Manila Bay, sits inside that regulated system. The companies running gaming venues there hold a PAGCOR gaming license, and PAGCOR keeps a public register of them: the List of Licensees for Gaming Venue Operations, current as of August 31, 2026¹.

That register is the document to check. It carries one caveat worth knowing: appearing on the list does not certify that a given licensee offers every PAGCOR-approved game. A company can be licensed for venue operations and still run a narrower product mix than its neighbor¹.

Licensing is not only about the big resorts. PAGCOR also publishes a separate list of poker operators with issued gaming licenses, which is where you find the standalone card rooms rather than the integrated resorts⁵. If you are trying to work out whether a room is legitimate, that list is the faster check.

On the other side of the line sit the people who cannot hold a player position at all. PAGCOR's responsible gaming rules bar several categories from entering, staying or playing at its gaming establishments:

• Persons under 21 years of age²
• Government officials and employees connected directly with the operation of the government or any of its agencies²
• Members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police²
• Gaming Employment License holders²

The Gaming Employment License exclusion travels. A venue operator's own terms can repeat it: one Manila operator's reward program explicitly rules out holders of a Gaming Employment License issued by PAGCOR⁶. For online play, the same idea appears in the eligibility rules for account holders, who must not be on PAGCOR's National Database of Restricted Persons and must not hold a Gaming Employment License⁷.

There is a family dimension too. Under the e-sabong off-cockpit betting framework, the spouse, common-law partner, children and parents of public officials, AFP and PNP members, and PAGCOR officials and employees are banned from playing⁸. That is a specific product rule rather than a blanket casino rule, but it shows how far the restricted-person logic reaches.

If you are a visitor, none of the barred categories usually apply to you. If you are a Philippine resident working in government, in uniform, or inside the gaming industry, they very likely do.

How PAGCOR regulates and penalizes its licensed casinos

A PAGCOR license is not a one-off approval. Licensed platforms have to comply with rules covering operational standards, player protection, anti-money laundering measures and responsible gambling practices⁹. That is the framework a licensee operates inside every day, not just at the point of licensing.

PAGCOR also accredits the companies that sit behind the licensed brands. There are separate regulatory frameworks for accrediting gaming affiliates and support service providers, and for accrediting service providers and processing system-related requests¹⁰. In practice this means the supply chain around a casino, from content providers to support systems, is itself subject to PAGCOR approval.

The regulator polices presentation as well as conduct. A notice of non-compliance on responsible gaming required licensees to carry an age restriction logo, the under-21 mark, on responsible gaming collateral¹². Small thing, but it tells you the compliance checks reach the signage.

Licensees are also expected to make themselves checkable. PAGCOR requires licensed platforms to publicly display their registration number and lets players verify validity directly on its website¹³. If a site you are looking at cannot show you a registration number that checks out against PAGCOR's own records, that is the practical signal.

For online play specifically, PAGCOR has been building player-facing tools. It announced an app intended to let online gaming players use only licensed and regulated platforms¹⁴. Separately, only registered players of PAGCOR-licensed gaming venues or integrated resort land-based casinos are allowed to use the online gaming platform service¹¹. So the online product is tied back to the land-based relationship rather than standing alone.

Player rules on PAGCOR-licensed platforms: age, accounts and KYC

The age rule is the same everywhere in the PAGCOR system: 21 and above, for land-based and online alike². Minors are strictly prohibited from entering casino premises even if an adult is with them¹⁶. The same floor applies to online accounts: an eligible account owner must be at least 21 years old⁷.

Registration is not anonymous. PAGCOR's rules for player account registration on approved remote gaming platforms set out the mandatory know-your-customer information¹⁷:

• Full name
• Date of birth
• Current address
• Contact number
• Source of income
• Valid government-issued identification card

The KYC provider on a licensed platform is also required to be capable of identifying and refusing anyone under 21, and to allow only people 21 and over who are not on the banned-personalities list to register¹⁰.

For the document itself, the accepted ID list used across Philippine regulated gaming is broad. It includes PhilID or ePhilID, SSS card, GSIS card, UMID card, LTO driver's license, PRC ID, PhilHealth ID, TIN ID, postal ID, Philippine passport, OWWA ID, COMELEC voter's ID or voter's certificate, IBP ID, senior citizen ID, person with disability ID, Alien Certificate of Registration ID card or DOLE work permit for foreign nationals, NBI clearance, PNP clearance, seaman's book, and government office and GOCC IDs¹⁸.

For a visitor, the practical version is simpler: bring your passport. It is on the accepted list, it carries your photo and date of birth, and it is the document a casino desk will expect from a foreigner. Residents will usually have several of the others to hand.

One more entry rule applies to residents specifically. Under the charter, the people allowed to play at PAGCOR casinos are set out below.

Visitors are not asked for an income certificate; residents may be.

Taxes on winnings and self-exclusion options

On tax, the figure that matters is straightforward: 5 percent of net winnings goes to the Bureau of Internal Revenue as franchise tax⁴. That is the rate attached to PAGCOR gaming, and it is deducted within the system rather than left for you to declare.

Self-exclusion is the other practical tool, and PAGCOR runs it in two forms. The self-exclusion program is for patrons who feel that they themselves are developing a problem with gambling²⁰. The family exclusion program is for relatives who feel someone close to them is²⁰.

Applying is not complicated. There are two routes.

Online. Complete the self-exclusion application through PAGCOR's Self-Exclusion Application Portal. You will need an image of a government-issued ID and a photograph of yourself, taken as a selfie inside the online application². The portal is at osea.pagcor.ph²¹.

By form. Complete the self-exclusion application form and attach a photocopy of a government-issued photo ID and two 2x2 color photos taken within the last six months, full face, directly facing the camera, with no hat, glasses or face mask. If someone else is submitting on your behalf, a selfie or video call is required to confirm it is you¹⁵.

Family exclusion applications need more paperwork: the family exclusion form, a photocopy of the respondent's government-issued photo ID, a photocopy of the applicant's government-issued photo ID or school ID, two 2x2 color photos of the respondent, and, depending on the relationship, a birth certificate if the applicant is the parent or child of a respondent who is at least 18, or a marriage contract if the applicant is the spouse. Non-personal submissions again need a selfie or video call¹⁵. Family exclusion applications can also be sent by email²¹.

Forms are available at PAGCOR-operated and regulated gaming sites as well, so you do not have to start online²⁰.

The important part is what happens after approval. Regardless of where the application was made, the self-exclusion order is enforced in all PAGCOR-operated and regulated gaming facilities²⁰. You are not excluded from one casino; you are excluded from the system.

What this means if you are visiting Entertainment City

If you are a tourist or a foreign resident heading to the Manila Bay resorts, the practical checklist is short. Be 21 or over. Carry your passport. Expect to register with the venue and, for online play tied to a licensed operator, to complete KYC with your name, date of birth, address, contact number, source of income and a government-issued ID¹⁷.

If you are a Philippine resident, the same age and ID rules apply, and you may also be asked to show the income certification that the charter requires for residents¹⁹. If you work in government, in the AFP or PNP, or hold a PAGCOR Gaming Employment License, you are barred from entering or playing at all².

If you are looking at an online casino from the Philippines, the test is whether it sits inside the PAGCOR framework. Only platforms operated or licensed by PAGCOR are legal locally, and other operators cannot obtain a license to offer online gambling in the country³. Offshore sites are outside that system, which means no Philippine regulator stands behind your balance. The same logic applies to crypto: transactions with digital currencies are legal in the Philippines and crypto is not legal tender, but that says nothing about whether a given casino is licensed²².

For the wider regional picture on how licensing works and how to verify a claim, see Gambling Regulators and Licenses in Asia and How to Check if a Casino, Betting Site or Lottery Is Licensed. If you want the country-level rules for the Philippines as a whole, start with Can I Gamble in the Philippines?.