Arden urges Philippine statute to secure online gaming rules
Regulation2 min read
Arden Consult founder and chief executive Toney Quiogue has called for the Philippines to pass a statute governing online gaming, arguing that the current framework relies largely on PAGCOR’s charter and issuances. Quiogue said legislation should define licensable activities, fees, offences and enforcement powers, including measures against illegal payment processing.
Arden Consult founder and chief executive Toney Quiogue has called for the Philippines to pass an online gaming law to reduce the risk of a sudden industry ban, in a paper on a global legal platform. Quiogue said the absence of a statute was the country's most important regulatory gap and that recent reforms could be reversed.
The current framework rests largely on PAGCOR's charter, Presidential Decree No. 1869 as amended by Republic Act No. 9487, and the regulator's own issuances. Quiogue said those issuances could be revised, deferred or challenged, while the charter had not been written for online gaming.
Quiogue said a statute should specify which online activities can be licensed, who can license them, the licensing criteria and the basis for fees and taxes. She said offences should cover illegal operators and those who knowingly process their payments, advertise them or recruit players for them.
The regulator should have authority to block illegal sites, instruct banks and e-wallets to stop processing illegal gaming payments, and trace funds with the Anti-Money Laundering Council, Quiogue said. Illegal operators can move to new domains, limiting the effectiveness of site blocking, but payment channels are harder to replace. Published timetables, consultation drafts and a consistent fee policy could help steer players to licensed sites.
Stricter regulation by PAGCOR helped head off calls from some politicians in 2025 for a total online gaming ban, Quiogue acknowledged. The rules include full customer verification before account funding, a minimum playing age of 21, removal of gambling ads from billboards and primetime broadcasts, and mandatory self-exclusion tools.