PAGCOR, the Philippine gambling regulator, asserted its authority to regulate the provision of offshore online gambling services from within the country’s borders. Earlier this week, a non-governmental organization contested the regulator’s power in a filing to the Supreme Court of the Philippines.
The Union of National Development and Good Governance-Philippines (UNLAD) argued in a Wednesday filing that the regulations under which licenses for offshore online gaming were granted and were to be granted were unconstitutional. In addition, the organization also claimed that the license issuance was not under PAGCOR’s authority as online gambling options would be provided to customers located outside the Philippines.
The gambling regulator published on Friday a response to the above statement, saying that under current laws, it was within its charter to license and regulate games of chance, cards, and numbers in the Philippines. PAGCOR further noted that given the fact gambling operators would provide their services from within the country, it would be its responsibility to monitor, regulate, and sanction them, if need be.
Following a crackdown on iGaming provided to Philippine citizens, it was announced in September that PAGCOR would be allowed to issue licenses to operators that would like to operate offshore online gambling businesses. The first 35 such licenses for Philippine Offshore Gaming Operations (POGO) were granted last week. The operators will thus be able to offer iGaming to people aged 21 or above and located anywhere where iGaming is allowed. Their operations will be strictly prohibited to Philippine citizens.
PAGCOR has previously announced that all interested operators must pay $50,000 for an online casino license and $40,000 for a sports betting one upon filing their application. If given the nod by the regulator, they must pay the additional amount of $200,000 for online casino and $150,000 for online sports betting operations.
The Philippine gambling regulator revealed in its Friday statement that so far, it has received PHP936 million in application and processing fees. The amount noted excluded taxes due to be paid in the months to come.
PAGCOR annually contributes 72% of its gross revenue to the Philippine government. The gambling regulatory body pointed out that revenue that will be generated from offshore online gambling operations will further boost the country’s coffers and help it fulfill its function as a partner to the government in building the nation. Contributions from PAGCOR are generally used for different initiatives intended to improve Philippine residents’ standard of living.
