Filipino online casinos for Real Money

Casino gambling is legal in the Philippines. However, there are terms and conditions. Firstly, Filipinos are only permitted to gamble in land-based gambling establishments. They are not permitted to play at online casinos licensed by PAGCOR or CEZA. The same applies to bingo sites, sportsbooks and more. However, there are loopholes.

In 2012, Filipino law was challenged by the Court of Appeals. The result meant that Filipinos are permitted to gamble online (across various platforms) as long as they do so at offshore casinos – casinos not licensed by PAGCOR or CEZA (more on those in a moment). Offshore casino gambling is, therefore, not strictly illegal in the Asian country.

PAGCOR has jurisdiction over land-based gambling games that include casino, bingo, and poker games. Sports betting is run by MegaSportsWorld, a state monopoly. Similarly, the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes runs the country’s lottery games. Monopolies don’t exist for the other forms of gambling games you can find in the Philippines. Next, let’s look at the overly tricky licensing and “regulatory” bodies.

There are effectively two licensed bodies in the Philippines. Naturally, this caused quite a lot of confusion. The first is the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation, known as PAGCOR. The second is the Cagayan Economic Zone Authority, otherwise known as CEZA.

PAGCOR licenses all land-based gambling venues involved with the Filipino gambling sector. Despite some casinos showcasing PAGCOR licenses, they mean next to nothing. PAGCOR can only license land-based games, electronic games included. Not online casino games. Any site showcasing a PAGCOR license doesn’t have the authority to offer online gambling games out of the Philippines.

CEZA licenses work differently. These are only valid for online enterprises, or those based out of the freeport of Cagayan, in Northern Luzon. These interesting licenses are sought after amongst Asia-facing online casinos, and CEZA has attracted attention as something of an authority when it comes to Asian online gambling licenses.

The issue with both licensing bodies is that they are relatively easy to obtain, and neither provides any great deal of regulation, despite calling themselves regulatory bodies. Most offshore casinos supporting these licenses are thought of as being of lesser quality and less secure than those with other licenses, such as Curacao-issued licenses. Neither will let Filipinos play at their sites either.

In the land-based gambling sector, virtually all forms of betting are legal. Sabong is the national game but can’t be found on many sites. Filipinos tend to put a great deal of effort into betting on sports. However, many also appreciate table games and slots. Lottery games, scratch cards and keno haven’t proven too popular with the Filipino gambling audience, so many of the sites that cater to Filipinos don’t tend to go overboard with these games. Cryptocurrency gambling is also on the rise in the country, so many Asia-facing casinos make it their business to offer these options.

There are quite a few software providers based out of the Philippines. Hyperlink, APD, BlastAsia, Think Sumo, StarTechUp, Adroit Apps, and EAComm are all tech companies involved in game development. However, there isn’t any major developer known for producing casino games worldwide. Instead, most Filipino casinos feature the same software providers you can get elsewhere. Evolution Gaming, for instance, is the top developer when it comes to live dealer games, although Asia Gaming, Ezugi and even Pragmatic Play have interests there.

Any online casino that has obtained a PAGCOR or CEZA license is not able to accept players from the Philippines. This is ironic, given that the country doesn’t mind licensing casinos to cater to players in other countries, which may feel the same way as the Philippines does. To get around this, many offshore casinos licensed outside of the Philippines have fought back and decided to accept players from the country.

As of 2012, Filipino players should know that gambling at offshore casinos is not illegal – at least, so says the Court of Appeals. Therefore, any online casinos licensed elsewhere can theoretically accept players from the country. Many of them choose to do this. Most of the casinos accepting players from the Philippines are aimed at Asian bettors in general. The Filipino peso is seldom accepted at these sites, although US dollars, Japanese yen, Indian rupees, Malaysian ringgits, Thai baht, and Chinese yuan typically are. There will undoubtedly be some convenient currency for Filipinos to bet with if they choose.