PAGCOR to Launch App Steering Players to Licensed Gaming Sites

By John Isaac,
Editor at online-gambling.com

John Isaac Editor at online-gambling.com

John Isaac is an editor with many years of experience in the gambling industry. He writes expert articles on card games like blackjack and poker. In addition, he is also well aware of the US gambling laws and the Indian and Dutch gambling markets. You can rely on verified information and insightful details.

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Last updated: August 28, 2026

The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) is building a mobile app that will show players which online gaming sites are licensed and regulated. Chairman and CEO Alejandro H. Tengco announced the plan at a House Committee on Appropriations budget hearing on Monday, August 24, 2026.

PAGCOR confirmed the plan in a media release the following day. The regulator says the app will launch before the end of 2026. It builds on PAGCOR Guarantee, the online verification page launched in 2025 that lets the public check whether a gaming provider holds a valid license.

Half of the Sites Filipinos Visit Are Illegal

Tengco told lawmakers that around 50% of the online gaming sites accessed in the Philippines operate without a license. Keeping players inside the regulated sector, he said, has been an ongoing challenge for PAGCOR and its law enforcement partners.

That gap matters for anyone choosing between online casinos in the Philippines. A licensed site is bound by PAGCOR’s rules on player protection and dispute handling. An unlicensed one is not, and Tengco stressed that players on licensed sites have a formal resolution process if something goes wrong.

The app has two stated goals, in Tengco’s words: curb illegal online gambling and protect players by keeping them on PAGCOR-regulated sites. He asked anyone who plays online to use it once it is available.

“The easier it is for them to identify where they can legally play, the better we can protect them from illegal operators and the risks that come with unregulated gaming.”

Alejandro H. Tengco, Chairman and CEO, PAGCOR

Why PAGCOR Is Pushing Players Toward Licensed Sites

The announcement lands during a difficult year for the regulator. At the same hearing, Tengco said PAGCOR expects total income to fall about 18% in 2026, to roughly PHP 86.9 billion, with net income projected to drop 91% to PHP 1.66 billion.

He tied much of the decline to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) order in 2025 that removed online gambling links from e-wallets such as GCash and Maya.

Gaming activity fell around 40% after the delinking, Tengco said, because funding an account now takes extra steps. Players can still deposit through GCash at online casinos that are licensed by PAGCOR, but the one-tap route inside the wallet app is gone.

Those extra steps cut both ways. They slow down licensed play, while illegal sites keep offering one-tap deposits and promotions with no regulatory limits. An official app that points players to legal sites is PAGCOR’s answer to that imbalance.

Tengco also noted early signs of recovery. Online gaming activity rose about 10% in July and held that level into August, and visits to integrated resorts picked up from late July.

What the App Will Do

PAGCOR has not published a feature list, named the app, or confirmed which platforms it will run on. The only timing given is “later this year.” Based on Tengco’s statement and the regulator’s release, the app will:

• Show whether an online gaming site is licensed and regulated by PAGCOR
• Take the PAGCOR Guarantee verification check from a web page to a phone
• Steer players away from unlicensed operators and the payment channels they rely on
• Support PAGCOR’s wider enforcement work with the DICT, NTC, and Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center

The enforcement side is already moving. PAGCOR said it is coordinating with those agencies to prosecute illegal operators, including the payment channels unlicensed sites rely on.

For players, the practical test will be whether the app is faster than checking the PAGCOR Guarantee page by hand. If a site does not appear in either, its casino bonus offers in the Philippines come with no regulatory backing, however generous they look.

Until the app launches, the Guarantee page remains the only official way to confirm a license.