Since (then) President Marcos created the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) in 1976, gambling has been legal in the Philippines and has since grown at a rapid rate.
It has been forecasted by Credit Suisse that the casino Philippines will bring in gaming revenues of up to 6 billion US dollars by the year 2018 which would ultimately place it as one of the top 4 countries in the world by this standard.
As of 2016, the current president, Rodrigo Duterte, has declared something of a war on online gambling. With PAGCOR being a government-owned corporation, it looked as though there would be little chance for casino Philippines to renew their licenses, affecting over 280 sportsbooks and internet cafes.
Casino Philippines News in 2023
In spite of things looking bleak for a booming casino industry in the Philippines, things seemed to have calmed down by early October, with Duterte causing around 75 online casinos in the CEZA section to fall uncertain as to whether they would also be affected by his goals.
The CEZA region currently services a large majority of Asia’s online casino gaming needs, which has ultimately pushed PAGCOR to make the move towards getting into the online market, eventually selling all 46 of their brick and mortar casinos. This would mean that best online gambling would finally be open to players in the Philippines outside of Manila.
Gambling Jurisdictions for Casino Philippines
There were 4 different gambling jurisdictions in the Philippines as of 2016, namely PAGCOR, CEZA, PCSO and APECO.
These regions have essentially been authorised by the government to administer and control gambling, with the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) controlling lotteries and the Cagayan Special Economic Zone (CEZA) administering gaming in the Cagayan Valley. The Aurora Special Economic Zone and Freeport Authority (APECO) became a gambling jurisdiction in 2010, however, has yet to introduce a casino in the region.
All of these regions are authorised to grant licenses to casino Philippines, as well as run casino gaming themselves excluding PSCO.
Available Casino Philippines Games
Players living in the Philippines will uncover a great mix of traditional, Asian-focused games in casinos and bingo halls all over the country.
At the very least, players will find a range of slot games in the PAGCOR clubs as well as bingo and keno in the various bingo halls. The list does go on to popular casino games such as Blackjack, Roulette, Baccarat, Pai Gow Poker, Stud Poker, Craps, Big and Small and Sic Bo.
Players living in the Philippines and looking for the more exciting, and sometimes eccentric, games will be pleased to discover that many casinos have Super Six, Pontoon, Rapid Roulette, Jazzbeme Baccarat and sometimes even Electronic Horse Racing.
Casino Philippines Facts
The Philippines is home to 32 cities that have gambling facilities, making up 66 legal casino gaming establishments in total.
Manila stands as the county’s largest gambling city, with 11 different casino gaming establishments making up 261 available table games as well as 2642 gaming, video poker and slot machines.
Available types of gaming in casino Philippines include horse racing tracks, sports betting parlours and, of course, casinos.