There are still a plethora of influencers in the Philippines that continue to promote illicit gambling, however, authorities in the country are closing in.
The Department of Information and Communications Technology’s Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Centre (CICC) have compiled a list of 30 influencers it says are promoting illegal online gambling platforms.
The list has been handed to the Philippine National Police-Anti-Cybercrime Group (PNP-ACG) for further investigations.
According to CICC’s Chief Undersecretary Renato Paraiso, the largest of the influencers have between 1.1 million and 9.2 million followers. He added that the influencers could be charged with violations of the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012, Presidential Decree No. 1602, which prescribes stiffer penalties on illegal gambling, and Article 315 of the Revised Penal Code on estafa.
Investigations into the illegal gambling promotions were undertaken by the CICC with the assistance of Digital Pinoy, the agency’s civil society partner.
Last month, the pair identified over 1,600 unlicensed gambling websites, many of which were identified to be mirror sites designed to bypass regulatory takedowns.
Amid this action, PAGCOR, the nation’s gambling regulator, has also committed Php 50m (£639,125) to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to help fight against the black market.
“Illegal gambling operators undermine our laws, exploit our people, and put our communities at risk,” said PAGCOR’s Chair and CEO, Alejandro Tengco.
As the Philippine Senate continues to weigh the possibility of a total ban on online gaming, Tengco has consistently warned that doing so would strengthen the black market and “deprive the government of much-needed revenues”.
Tengco has also urged the need for stricter regulations in a bid to strangle engagement and channelisation to the unlicensed sector.
He emphasised that the illegal sites not only deprive the economy of vital revenues but also elevate the risk to Filipino players. Furthermore, Tengco also outlined that “every peso that PAGCOR earns goes back to the people through classrooms, health facilities, disaster response programs, and other community projects.”
Through the first nine months of the year, PAGCOR contributed Php 54.26bn to nation-building.
PAGCOR today (17 November) also announced that it has allocated Php 32.85m in assistance to families impacted by Typhoon Tino and Super Typhoon Uwan, which has swept through large regions of the country in the last two weeks, causing almost 300 fatalities.
A backdrop of modernisation
PAGCOR has recently celebrated a modernisation strategy as it looks to bolster its digital growth into a new era.
Despite the debate and speculation around the future of online gaming in the Philippines continuing, the regulated sector has continued to evolve and grow.
The regulatory body detailed that almost 50% year-over-year increase in net revenue was secured through the first three quarters of 2025, whichTengco described as a clear indicator of the positive impact of the agency’s embracing of new tech-driven initiatives.
The agency reported a net revenue of Php 14.32bn (£185.4bn) through Q3 2025, up from Php 9.63bn in the same period last year.
This increase was fuelled by a 5.87% Y-o-Y increase in total revenues to Php 84.09bn, Php 75.93bn of which came from gaming operations.
The body has undertaken a focus on taking its casino sector into a new era as its overall betting landscape adjusted to a future beyond POGOs. In its latest set of results, it began reaping the benefits of the significant investment in slot machines, having acquired 1,968 slot machines from RGB International Bhd, a casino equipment supplier and distributor.
