PAGCOR reports nearly 50% revenue drop after Philippines e-wallet gambling ban. Official warns illegal sites surge as players leave legal iGaming platforms.
The financial contribution of the Philippines‘ regulated online gambling sector has been significantly impacted by recent government restrictions on digital payments. The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) reported a “sharp decline” in its income, falling by as much as 49%, starting in August 2025. This downturn directly followed a directive from the central bank ordering banks and e-wallet services to delink from all online gaming platforms. Speaking at a House Committee hearing, PAGCOR Assistant Vice President Jessa Mariz Fernandez confirmed the dramatic drop, revising year end PAGCOR revenue forecasts downwards.
Fernandez attributed the decline not only to the e-wallet ban Philippines but also potentially to a new PAGCOR policy setting a PHP500 (approx. $8.53) minimum deposit for online play. “ We have felt that more players are refusing to continue playing with legal online gaming operators. Some players usually deposit or top up only between PHP100 to PHP500,” she explained, suggesting the threshold may be pushing smaller stakes players away from the regulated Philippines gambling regulation environment.
The hearing also highlighted a significant disagreement within the government regarding the economic importance of PAGCOR iGaming. While PAGCOR stressed that nearly 60% of its total income derives from online gambling operations, a crucial source of funding for initiatives like the Universal Health Care (UHC) Act, the Department of Economy, Planning, and Development (DEPDev) presented a starkly different view. DEPDev Director Desiree Narvaez stated that online gambling’s contribution to the national economy was “minimal,” accounting for just 0.37% of GDP, and that the department supported either a ban or stricter regulation based on this assessment. Committee Chairperson Antonio Ferrer suggested alternative funding sources could easily cover any UHC shortfall if a Philippines online gambling ban were implemented.
While grappling with falling revenues from the legal market, PAGCOR emphasised its intensified efforts against the illegal gambling Philippines sector. Retired General Raul Villanueva detailed the success of a new, homegrown Artificial Intelligence ( AI) program developed with the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC). This PAGCOR AI blocking technology has dramatically increased the agency’s ability to detect and report illegal sites to the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) for blocking, raising efficiency from 100 to 500 sites per week. Since September 2022, the NTC has blocked 12,562 illegal sites based on PAGCOR reports. Fernandez argued this continuous blocking serves as an effective deterrent, despite the vast number of illegal gambling platforms remaining active (estimated at 12,000 versus 77 licensed sites).
The broader political debate over a potential Philippines online gambling ban continues, with lawmakers divided on the issue. A technical working group is expected to be formed to consolidate various legislative proposals before the year end, but the final outcome remains uncertain.
The dramatic 49% drop in PAGCOR Philippines revenue following the e-wallet ban Philippines directive is a stark, if entirely predictable, illustration of the consequences of poorly coordinated Philippines gambling regulation. While the ban was likely intended as a harm reduction measure, its immediate effect has been to cripple the legal, licensed PAGCOR iGaming market, pushing potentially half of its customer base towards the completely unregulated illegal gambling Philippines sector. PAGCOR’s own admission that it cannot directly shut down these thousands of offshore illegal sites highlights the ineffectiveness of demand side restrictions like payment blocking when supply remains readily accessible. This creates the worst possible outcome: reduced state revenue decline, diminished player protection, and a booming black market.
The conflicting messages from different government departments further underscore the lack of a coherent national strategy. While PAGCOR defends the significant contribution of PAGCOR iGaming to state funds (particularly for healthcare), DEPDev dismisses its economic impact as “minimal.” This internal disagreement makes it impossible to formulate effective policy. Furthermore, the introduction of a high PAGCOR minimum deposit alongside the e-wallet ban Philippines seems counter intuitive if the goal is to keep players within the regulated system. These contradictory policies only serve to make the legal market less attractive and further strengthen the appeal of easily accessible, low stake illegal gambling Philippines platforms.
While PAGCOR’s enhanced illegal site blocking efforts using PAGCOR AI blocking technology are a positive step in enforcement, site blocking alone is notoriously insufficient to combat the black market. Without addressing the root causes driving players offshore, such as uncompetitive restrictions or payment difficulties in the legal market, blocking becomes a reactive game of “whack a mole.” The current situation demands a unified government approach that balances harm reduction with the need for a commercially viable and attractive legal alternative. Until such a coherent strategy emerges, the Philippines online gambling ban debate will continue, and the black market will likely remain the primary beneficiary of the current regulatory chaos.
Tags: PAGCOR, Philippines, e-wallet ban Philippines, online gambling, illegal gambling Philippines, black market, revenue decline, PAGCOR revenue, iGaming revenue, gambling regulation, payment blocking, Jessa Mariz Fernandez, DEPDev, NTC, PAGCOR AI blocking, Philippines online gambling ban, PAGCOR iGaming, PAGCOR minimum deposit, illegal sites, Philippines GDP gambling.
