The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) admitted that combating illegal offshore gaming operations remains a challenge, with an estimated 50% of online gaming sites accessible in the Philippines operating illegally.
In an interview with DZRH’s Dos Por Dos, PAGCOR Chairman Alejandro Tengco said the online gaming industry is currently split evenly between legal, licensed operators and illegal ones.
“Nasa 50-50 po sa pang-kasalukuyan. 50% ng industriya ay may lisensya o legal, 50% ay hindi legal,” Tengco said.
Tengco said the situation has improved from when he assumed office, when illegal operations were estimated to account for more than 90% of the industry.
He noted, however, that many illegal gaming operations are based outside the Philippines, making them more difficult to shut down.
To address the problem, PAGCOR is coordinating with the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) and the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) to monitor illegal gaming platforms and request the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) to block non-compliant websites.
Tengco said blocking illegal sites remains difficult because operators can quickly relaunch using new domain names after a website is taken down.
“Iniiba lang ‘yung font, dinagdagan lang ng isang numero ang mga site,” he said, describing how illegal operators evade website blocking measures.
Despite the continued proliferation of illegal platforms, PAGCOR said it will continue working with government agencies to identify and block unauthorized online gaming operations.
