PAGCOR is preparing an app that lets players check whether an online gaming site holds a licence. Launch is set for later this year, part of a government campaign against unlicensed operators and their payment channels.
Chairman and CEO Alejandro H. Tengco disclosed the plan during budget hearings before the House of Representatives appropriations committee, and the regulator later confirmed the initiative in a press release. The app has two jobs, he said: curb illegal online gambling and keep players on licensed sites supervised by PAGCOR. By his estimate, around 50% of the online gaming sites reached from the Philippines are illegal. Regulators and law enforcement have so far failed to hold players inside the regulated sector.
The app builds on existing consumer protection infrastructure. PAGCOR launched a PAGCOR Guarantee page in 2025, where the public can check an operator's licence status. The regulator also works with the Department of Information and Communications Technology, the National Telecommunications Commission and the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordination Center. The aim is to hold illegal operators to account, and that includes their payment channels.
For operators and affiliates working the Philippine market, the practical read is simple: check licence status and payment chains. PAGCOR names the payment channels of unlicensed platforms as a target.
