The president of the Philippines leaves the iGaming market in turmoil, suggesting the new PAGOCR offshore licensing system may be banned. (Image by asukanda on Vecteezy)
The new PAGCOR offshore licensing certification may already be over just as quickly as it burst onto the online gambling entertainment scene.
This announcement comes via the latest news coming out of the Philippines.
According to several news sources, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has banned PAGCOR’s offshore gambling system.
The ban is in accordance with an Executive Order initiated in the first week of November 2024.
You may have noticed that some of the online casinos reviewed here on Casinoplusbonus have changed to PAGCOR.
We’ve actually been in the process of updating our pages to show you which casinos are using the PAGCOR ‘Offshore’ gambling regulatory services.
Operators of casinos, such as Zet, Buran, Nomini, Malina, Casinia, and 7Signs, all decided to move to the Philippines. However, it looks like that move may have backfired, as this new offshore certification could be short-lived.
The Executive Order Comes With Several Restrictions
Speaking at an event in early November 2024, the President of the Philippines said PAGCOR ‘Offshore’ operators may still operate using legal loopholes. His remarks were in reference to laws clearly presented to him from legal opposition to the EO.
For the time being the EO he has mandated sates:
- Ban on all internet gaming licensees
- Ban on all IT providers
- Ban on all live streaming services
- Ban on new applications and renewals from overseas gambling operators to join the licensing framework
The president has additionally set a deadline for all overseas operators to exit the Philippines by the end of 2024.
Why Have Online Casinos Switched to PAGCOR?
There are 100s of online casinos moving over to PAGCOR, many we have not reviewed here on Casinoplusbonus. Yet, as we keep a close eye on the iGaming market, we’ve seen a large number of operators exit Curacao and switch to the Philippines.
We can only speculate, but one of the key reasons for the switch is due to changes in Curacao’s eGaming laws. The tiny Caribbean island country has cancelled its original 4 Master Licensing systems and opened the new Curacao Gaming Control Board (GCB). You will have seen many of our lists here on Casinoplusbonus reflect this change with the new green GCB logo.
However, not all operators that were based out of Curacao made the switch to the new GCB framework. Hundreds jumped shop and moved to the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR).
The PAGCOR has an ‘Offshore’ licensing certification system so that operators can manage their online gambling platforms under the remote gambling laws of the Philippines. It is similar to the way the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) and Curacao GCB licensing systems operate.
As long as players in the Philippines cannot sign up for these ‘offshore’ platforms, PAGCOR casinos can pretty much target players in most countries globally. In fact, it has more similarities with the Curacao licensing framework, as PAGCOR casinos and sports can offer cryptocurrency deposits.’
Why not switch to GCB? Again, I can only speculate, but Curacao has changed its financial laws. It is possible that operators who moved to PAGCOR disagreed with the new conditions and felt the Philippines offers better tax and financial reporting opportunities.
Is a Switch to the Comoros Anjouan Gaming Regulatory Authority Coming?
More speculation is circulating as I speak with various operators in the industry that if PAGCOR’s ‘Offshore’ framework is off the table, operators who moved to PAGCOR won’t go back to Curacao. The alternative is the Comoros (Anjouan Gaming) authority, which we here at Casinoplusbonus know very little about.
To be honest, we know little about PAGCOR, except for the fact it is the gambling authority that governs land-based and online casinos available to citizens in the Philippines. The ‘Offshore’ regulatory framework is something new to us as it just came online in 2024.
As for the Comoros Anjouan Gaming Regulatory Authority, this seems a little dodgy to us, but time will tell. Anjouan is one of the three main islands that make up the Union of the Comoros, which is a country located in the Indian Ocean just off the eastern coast of Africa.
With the likely ban on PAGCOR offshore gambling, Anjouan could become the new Curacao. Meanwhile, Curacao has changed its online gambling entertainment sector to comply with Financial Action Task Force (FATF) recommendations, and has become a more gambling licensing framework.
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