A Guide to Online Casino Play in the Philippines
Online casino play has become extremely popular amongst players all over the world and especially amongst those living in the Philippines, with an extremely large number of online casinos that cater to Filipino players posing a problem with choice rather than a problem with options.
These casinos cater for players living in the Philippines in all spheres, including safe and secure payment options, language and currency options, real money and free play options, game selection and much more.
Online Gambling Laws in the Philippines
The laws in the Philippines surrounding online casino play are somewhat complicated, with a large section of the country controlled by the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) which has also monopolised the gambling industry for all casinos in that region, owning and operating most of the casinos in the country.
Those within the Cagayan Special Economic Zone and Freeport region at the tip of the country are exempt from PAGCOR’s regulations. This region is ultimately allowed to issue its own gambling licenses, using different criteria to do so.
Regardless, online casinos are now legal wherever situated in the Philippines so players can rest assured that tight control on licenses means safe and secure online casino play.
PAGCOR
While PAGCOR is a licensing agency, it actually owns a large majority of the casinos in the Philippines and contributes to the economy so much that it stands second to the government tax department in terms of revenue contributions.
All in all, they employ more than 11 000 people, spread over various casinos, bingo parlors and e-games cafes, and even though laws prohibit many players living in the Philippines from online casino play at home, these players are spending close to 1.5 billion Pesos a year.
This does, however, mean that PAGCOR has been able to monopolise on online casino play in most parts of the Philippines, being a government-owned corporation that are the sole issuers for gaming and casino licenses in the country.
Game Selection
All games other than the 3 that were previously mentioned above are allowed in the online casinos in the Philippines.
Casinos are therefore free to provide any game from Video Roulette with live table spins in real time to online video slot machines that have become so popular with today’s players. There are currently said to be more than 250 variations of slot games (including some impressive progressive jackpot games) available in online casinos from all around the Philippines, locking them in as the most popular and most played games.
Other games that players can expect to find include the likes of online baccarat, online casino blackjack, video poker, online bingo, scratch cards and keno games.
Banned Online Casino Play
While online casino play is legal for players living in the Philippines, there are still many laws that prohibit casinos from providing certain services to Filipino players, including a few games.
The 3 games currently banned from online casinos in the Philippines are Last Two, Jueteng and Masiao and these are banned by law so players won’t find them in any legal online casinos.