The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) is leading the drafting of a position paper, planning to submit it to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), with the core demand to urge the BSP to revoke the previous disconnection order, allowing licensed online gambling sites to re-establish links with electronic wallet service providers. This move, disclosed by PAGCOR Chairman and CEO Alejandro Tengco at the ICE Barcelona, may reshape the payment landscape of the Philippine online gambling industry. Despite the revenue impact of the disconnection order in August 2024, the gross income of Philippine online gambling still reached a new high in 2025, demonstrating the industry's resilience. Relevant Philippine gambling payment compliance cases can be referenced on the PASA official website.
Core Demand: Why Insist on Restoring Payment Links?
Behind PAGCOR's push to restore links, there are both industry development needs and practical pain points:
Negative impact of disconnection: In August 2024, the BSP required electronic wallet service providers to cut off links with all online gambling platforms within 48 hours, citing the prevention of unauthorized transactions and enhanced fund monitoring. However, this made it difficult for players to intuitively distinguish legitimate platforms, instead providing opportunities for illegal gambling gangs;
Key to convincing the BSP: Tengco emphasizes that the core of the position paper is to show the BSP the various regulatory measures implemented by PAGCOR after the 2025 Senate hearing, allowing the BSP to see the industry's rectification results and thus "loosen up";
Importance of payment convenience: Restoring electronic wallet links can enhance the user experience of legitimate platforms, further squeeze the space for the illegal market, and ensure the safety of players' funds.
Regulatory Support: PAGCOR's Compliance Assurance Measures
To persuade the BSP, PAGCOR has organized a series of industry standard measures as the core support of the position paper:
Responding to Senate hearing demands: After the explosive growth of the online gambling industry led to a Senate hearing in 2025, PAGCOR quickly implemented multiple regulatory measures to standardize the local online gambling (eGames) industry;
Enhancing player protection: By improving audit mechanisms and fund monitoring processes, reducing industry risks, and protecting the legal rights of players;
Defining compliance boundaries: Clarifying the boundaries between licensed operators and illegal platforms, making post-restoration regulation easier to implement.
Industry Performance: Still Achieving a New High of 200 Billion Pesos in Revenue Under Disconnection
Despite the impact of payment disconnection, the Philippine online gambling industry still delivered an "impressive report card":
Revenue growth against the odds: In 2025, the gross gaming revenue (GGR) of the Philippine online gambling industry broke through 200 billion pesos (approximately 3.7 billion US dollars), setting a new historical high;
Short-term slowdown in growth rate: PAGCOR admits that the revenue growth rate in the third quarter of 2025 slowed down significantly due to disconnection, but the full year still achieved a breakthrough, confirming the resilience of the legal market;
Strong market demand: The new high in revenue also shows that, despite the inconvenience of payments, players' demand for regulated online gambling remains strong.
Long-term Strategy: Dual Management of B2B Licenses and Minimum Guarantee System
In addition to promoting the restoration of payment links, PAGCOR is also planning for the long-term development of the industry, solidifying its compliance foundation:
Planning B2B sector regulation: Intending to issue licenses to content providers, game developers, and other marketing agencies to achieve full industry chain compliance regulation;
Establishing a minimum guarantee system: Setting new minimum guarantee requirements for PAGCOR-licensed online enterprises to further reduce industry risks and ensure market stability;
Balancing development and regulation: While promoting industry recovery, preventing risks through institutional construction to achieve sustainable development.
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This article is from "PASA-Global iGaming Leaders" gambling industry news channel:https://t.me/pasa_news
Original in-depth gambling channel:https://t.me/gamblingdeep
Free data reports: @pasa_research
PASA Matrix: @pasa002_bot
PASA official website: https://www.pasa.news
