Launching an online casino in the Philippines

A licence from PAGCOR, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation, to offer online games to players physically in the Philippines. The licensee must be a Philippine company. Offshore online gaming aimed at players abroad — the former POGO industry — has been banned by law.

PAGCOR is both the regulator and a gaming operator. A compliance summary of its licensing requirements lists paid-up capital of ₱100 million, a performance deposit, geo-fencing to the Philippines, a minimum player age of 21 and a two-year renewable licence. Since February 2026 players must complete identity checks before they can deposit, and broadcast advertising is barred in prime time.

The POGO ban works in the other direction: a Philippine licence no longer lets anyone serve players outside the country from the Philippines.

PAGCOR takes a share of gross gaming revenue, and from 1 July 2026 a monthly minimum: ₱9 million for platforms with electronic casino games and ₱3 million for others, rising to ₱10.5 million and ₱4 million from January 2027.

The minimum guaranteed fees were announced by PAGCOR to stop operators under-declaring revenue; they are payable whether or not the month's revenue reaches the benchmark. At the minimum they work out to an effective 30% of GGR for e-casino. Add the capital, deposit and compliance costs in the licensing summary, and the Philippines is a market for well-funded operators rather than small first launches.

It is being debated. Several bills in the current Congress would ban domestic online gambling outright or bar e-wallets from funding it; they were still in committee at the last public update. Meanwhile the central bank has made e-wallets remove in-app links to gambling sites.

In August 2025 the central bank ordered e-wallets to remove links and icons to online gambling platforms within 48 hours, and GCash and Maya complied. A Philippine launch should be planned with the possibility of a ban in view.

E-wallets — GCash and Maya above all — followed by bank transfers and cards. Since August 2025 the wallets no longer link to gambling sites from inside their apps, but remain how most players move money.

These are the methods the market expects, not a list of what any platform has live. On WW Games, crypto is connected with every launch; local methods can be integrated for the market when a payment provider agrees to work with the brand, which depends mostly on its licence. How payments are set up is on payments.

The PAGCOR licence and the Philippine company are yours; WW Games supplies the platform. Licensing is the operator's responsibility and depends on the markets served. WW Games does not hold or sublicense a gambling licence, and can put you in touch with licensing providers.

PAGCOR accredits the gaming systems its licensees use, so the platform will be part of the licence process. The storefront is in English from day one; Filipino is added as part of setup. What the platform costs is on pricing.