PAGCOR - The Philippines Gambling Commission

The Philippines Gambling Commission, better known as Pagcor is a government agency tasked with promoting responsible gambling and generating revenue in the country. It licenses casinos and physical gambling facilities, collects fees from licensed operators and taxes and provides a framework for the industry to follow.

Its vision is to make the Philippines a top gaming and entertainment destination in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region and generate revenues for socio-civic projects by 2020. The corporation is run by a board of directors and governed by a charter Pagcor licensed casino.

In addition to operating land-based casinos, PAGCOR also licenses offshore gambling sites through its Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO) legislation. These websites operate mainly for international players and are popular in Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese markets.

Several criminal acts have been linked to offshore gambling operations. For example, a number of people have been kidnapped and forced to work in slavery for their gambling profits, and the continued existence of these businesses has caused a lot of friction between the Philippines and China.

To protect players, PAGCOR has implemented a number of security measures. It monitors online casinos and makes sure that they are following all laws, regulations and codes of conduct in the country. It also regularly audits the operations of its licensed sites to ensure that they are complying with all of the requirements of the industry.

It is important to choose a site that has the PAGCOR logo on its homepage and footer, as these are the only legally operating sites in the Philippines. These are the most reliable and safe sites to play at and will have the latest SSL encryption and HTML5 protections in place.

PAGCOR is a state-run agency that operates and regulates a wide range of activities in the Philippines including licensed casinos, bingo parlours and e-games cafes. The company is a member of the Association of Asia-Pacific Regulatory Authorities (APRA) and aims to increase the country’s international reputation as a world-class gambling destination by 2021.

The PAGCOR website states that the agency is a "responsible and responsive partner of the Philippine government in its nation-building programs." Its mission is to create an environment that propels the development of the Filipino gaming and entertainment industry while generating revenues for its social welfare and tourism purposes.

RA 9487 was enacted by Congress in 2007 and extended the life and rule of PAGCOR for another 25 years. This Act also mandated that PAGCOR obtains permission from territorial governments before choosing locations for its casino and gaming operations.

This law helped to ensure that PAGCOR stayed out of areas that were deemed undesirable by local authorities. In addition, it allowed the company to enter into joint ventures with other companies in order to expand its operations.

Since RA 9487 was passed, the Philippines has become one of the fastest growing countries for online gambling. It now has an estimated 617 eBingo and 270 online casinos, along with 106 sportsbetting sites that have been licensed by PAGCOR.