PAGCOR’s renewed strategy to enhance compliance across the Philippines’ gaming market has shifted towards suppliers.
This is according to the law firm Arden Consult, which posted on LinkedIn a notice that PAGCOR has moved from ‘policy implementation to active compliance verification’.
The regulator announced in April plans to release a Regulatory Framework for the Accreditation of Gaming Affiliates and Support Service providers, which requires entities supporting iGaming, such as game aggregators, game content providers, payment providers and KYC providers, to undergo formal accreditation.
The deadline for accreditation is 31 March 2026, however, Arden noted that in January, PAGCOR directed operators to submit a list of their B2B suppliers, which were then cross-checked with PAGCOR’s records.
The law firm stated: “The practical consequences of this approach is that operators are now acting as frontline compliance filters. Even suppliers that are not directly subject to regulatory inquiry may encounter commercial disruption if their operator partners cannot demonstrate that all vendors in their ecosystem satisfy PAGCOR’s accreditation requirements.”
If unaccredited vendors are identified, operators may be instructed to stop using their services, including through the issuing of cease-and-desist notices.
The decision to require accreditation for suppliers forms part of PAGCOR’s wider efforts to strengthen regulatory requirements for the Philippines’ online gambling market while fighting back against the unlicensed sector.
When the requirements were announced, Keith McDonnell, Director at the KMI Group, told iGaming Expert that the change marked a ‘natural progression’ for the regulator.
He said: “It’s a natural next step for PAGCOR to ensure end-to-end policing and regulation of all iGaming-related business in the Philippines and avoid the infiltration of ‘bad actors’, something they have tried hard to eradicate since the regulator overhaul started.”
Some of the changes currently under consideration by PAGCOR include the possibility of a complete ban on gambling advertising.
The regulator has already mandated a TV and radio ad blackout during ‘primetime’ between 5.30pm and 8.30pm, but PAGCOR’s Chair and Chief Executive Officer, Alejandro Tengco, said that a complete ban could be in the works.
There has also been a heightened focus on tackling influencer marketing that hurts the country’s gambling ecosystem and hinders wider, safer gambling efforts.
During a recent press briefing, the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Centre (CICC) detailed that ten specific influencers are under suspicion, including names such as Perkz Gaming, Jam Magno, Vic Desucatan and Wampipti. This followed action by PAGCOR over warnings fired at a group of 30 influencers just months prior.
The new strategy, however, underpins significant questions around the most effective way to combat the black market, with new regulation focusing in on suppliers and potentially highlighting a new avenue to other key global regulators.
