Pagcor rules out entry of new e-gaming operators

MANILA, Philippines —The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR) has no plans to issue new licenses to online gaming operators for now, keeping the number at 48 as it seeks to consolidate the industry, while maintaining fee rates.

PAGCOR chairman and CEO Alejandro Tengco said he sees no need to lift the moratorium on new online gaming licenses imposed through a board resolution in March 2024.

“For now, I want the whole industry to consolidate. So that the weak can leave and when it consolidates, we will decide if we will issue licenses next time,” he said on the sidelines of a House committee on appropriations hearing.

“As I explained, there are a lot of people who were granted licenses. We didn’t realize that some of them were just keeping the licenses idle, trying to sell them. But we are making efforts to eliminate those,” Tengco said in Filipino.

Currently, he said, the number of online gaming licensees has fallen to 48 from 74.

Tengco also ruled out immediate changes on the fee rates imposed on gaming operators, which stand at 30 percent for e-game operators and 25 percent for integrated resorts effective Jan. 1.

“Nothing will change. We can’t change it to have a constancy in our revenue,” he said.

The fees being collected by the gaming regulator are based on a fixed percentage of the licensees’ gross gaming revenues (GGR).

During the hearing, Tengco also disclosed that PAGCOR fined the online gaming company behind a recent giveaway of 100 high-end phones promoted by influencer Ivana Alawi for P1 million and ordered it to stop the promotion.

Contestants were required to “like” the gambling social media platform to qualify for the giveaway.

Aside from the fine, the firm was issued a “stern warning” against repeating the violation, Tengco said.

“If it is repeated, there will be a heavier fine and the possibility that it can lead…another violation can lead to the suspension and ultimately, the cancellation of their license,” he said.

Tengco was responding to Kamanggagawa party-list Rep. Elijah Fernando, who raised concerns over the growing number of content creators and influencers promoting online gambling.

Fernando said content creators and influencers are equally liable for workers and ordinary citizens falling into gambling addiction.

Tengco said the gaming regulator coordinates with the Department of Information and Communications Technology, National Telecommunications Commission and Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) in pursuing cases against those who promote illegal online gambling sites.

“Those who filed a case against the endorsers or influencers came from the CICC. We are reporting to them and they are the ones filing a case. As far as I know,  I think they have already filed 12 or 15 cases,” he said.

The GGR, or total bets minus payouts, this year is estimated at around P370 billion. This is below the P396.14 billion recorded in the previous year.