The Cyber Crime Investigation and Coordination Centre (ICC) of the Department of Information and Communication Technology (DICT) of the Philippines recently published a list of 30 local social media outlets suspected of promoting illegal online gambling. The list has now been referred to the Philippine National Police Cybercrime Unit (PNP-ACG) for in-depth investigation.
According to the Deputy Minister of ICC, Renato Paraiso, the list of Internet fans is large, with the highest account number of more than 9.2 million fans. The persons concerned may face charges of violations of the Cybercrime Prevention Act 2012, Presidential Decree No. 1602 (enhanced penalties for illegal gambling) and article 315 of the Revised Penal Code (fraud). The survey was conducted jointly by ICC and the civil society organization Digital Pinoy. Both have previously identified over 1,600 online gambling sites, including a large number of “image sites” designed to circumvent the regulatory embargo. Meanwhile, the Philippine Entertainment and Lottery Corporation (PAGCOR) has allocated 50 million pesos (approximately $846 million) to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to support the Government ‘ s campaign against the underground gambling market. The President and Chief Executive Officer of PAGCOR, Alejandro Tengco, stated that “illegal gambling operators undermine legal authority, exploit people and threaten social security”.
The Philippine Senate is currently assessing whether there is a total ban on online lottery. Alejandro Tenko warned that the national ban could fuel the underground industry and deprive the country of significant fiscal revenues. He called on the authorities to adopt stricter regulatory mechanisms to steer the public away from illegal websites and to enhance the flow of funds to regulated platforms. Alejandro Tenko stressed that illegal websites not only eroded the public treasury, but also increased the risk for players. He added: “Each peso earned by PAGCOR is eventually returned to society for the construction of classrooms, medical institutions, disaster relief projects and other community development programmes.” According to the data, PAGCOR officially launched a digital modernization strategy to drive its operations in an intelligent and data-driven direction. Although the legitimacy of online games is still in dispute, the regulated lottery industry has continued to grow steadily. According to official reports, the net income of PAGCOR in the first three quarters of 2025 increased by nearly 50 per cent over the same period, to 14,320 million pesos (approximately $242 million), up significantly from 9.63 billion pesos in the same period last year. Total income rose by 587 per cent to 84.9 billion pesos (approximately $1.42 billion), of which 75.93 billion pesos (approximately $1,285 million) came from the gaming business.
PAGCOR is actively promoting the upgrading of the casino industry in the Philippines with a view to setting up a “post-PAGCOR” market. Its latest performance report indicated that the institution had procured 1968 tiger machines from the casino equipment supplier, RGB International Bhd, which marked its gradual success in the modernization transition.
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