{"id":777031489,"date":"2025-09-10T08:17:51","date_gmt":"2025-09-10T11:17:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/?p=777031489"},"modified":"2026-04-21T19:18:55","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T22:18:55","slug":"pagcor-outlines-plan-to-decouple-commercial-operations-from-its-regulatory-functions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/pagcor-outlines-plan-to-decouple-commercial-operations-from-its-regulatory-functions","title":{"rendered":"PAGCOR CEO reiterates plan to decouple commercial and regulatory functions"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Alejandro H. Tengco spoke at the Inside Asian Gaming (IAG) Summit 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

The Philippines.- Speaking at the Inside Asian Gaming (IAG) Summit 2025, Alejandro H. Tengco<\/strong>, chairman and CEO of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR), has reiterated the agency\u2019s plans to decouple its commercial operations from its regulatory functions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPAGCOR\u2019s dual role has served its purpose in the past, but as the industry matured, it became clear that \u2013 in layman\u2019s terms \u2013 a referee cannot also be a player on the same field,\u201d Tengo said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The plan requires legal consideration as PAGCOR is governed by Presidential Decree 1869 and Republic Act 9487. PAGCOR must first obtain the approval of the Governance Commission for Government-Owned and Controlled Corporations (GCG)<\/strong>, which is reviewing documents. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tengco said Casino Filipino employees would be redeployed, absorbed by private operators, or granted competitive retirement benefits once the planned privatisation of PAGCOR\u2019s gaming operations takes place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During his speech, Tengco noted that industry GGR climbed from US$3.75bn in 2022 to US$6.5bn in 2024, while in the first half of this year<\/a>, GGR reached US$3.8bn, putting the sector on track to achieve a US$7bn full-year target. PAGCOR\u2019s own revenues in the first semester reached US$1bn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThese numbers affirm the Philippines\u2019 place as one of the fastest-growing and most important gaming markets in Asia,\u201d Tengco said, emphasising that reforms have been made to make sure that growth is both sustainable and responsible.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
PAGCOR’s Alejandro Tengco.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Tengco highlighted measures such as the launch of the PAGCOR Guarantee Page<\/strong> to verify licensed platforms, responsible gaming tools such as self-exclusion and betting limits, and a 24\/7 helpline set up with the Seagulls Flock Foundation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PAGCOR has also banned the use of credit cards and cryptocurrencies for betting, tightened rules on gambling advertisements in partnership with the Ad Standards Council<\/a>, and expanded coordination with law enforcement and cybercrime agencies to address illegal online gambling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tengco also noted the country\u2019s removal from the Financial Action Task Force grey list<\/strong> earlier this year was a milestone that strengthened investor confidence and validated compliance efforts against money laundering and financial crimes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tengco has been pressing for\u00a0stricter regulation<\/a>\u00a0for online gaming amid calls for a ban. He argues that\u00a0prohibition<\/a>\u00a0would encourage illegal operations and deprive the government of revenues.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n


<\/p>\n\n\n

\n\t\t\tSee also:<\/span><\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\tSee also:<\/span> PAGCOR CEO presses for stricter regulation, instead of online gaming ban<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Alejandro H. Tengco spoke at the Inside Asian Gaming (IAG) Summit 2025.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":226,"featured_media":16906,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"is_press_release":false,"is_interview":false,"is_opinion":false,"focusai_summary":"PAGCOR's Chairman and CEO, Alejandro H. Tengco, reiterated plans to decouple its commercial gaming operations from regulatory functions, citing the need for a clear separation of roles. This privatization initiative, requiring legal and governmental approval, coincides with significant GGR growth in the Philippines, which is projected to reach US$7 billion this year, affirming the market's importance in Asia. Concurrently, PAGCOR is implementing robust regulatory reforms, including enhanced responsible gaming measures, advertising restrictions, and strengthened AML efforts, which contributed to the country's removal from the FATF grey list, boosting investor confidence.","focusai_entities":"Alejandro H. Tengco, Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR), Inside Asian Gaming (IAG), Governance Commission for Government-Owned and Controlled Corporations (GCG), Casino Filipino, Seagulls Flock Foundation, Ad Standards Council, Financial Action Task Force (FATF)","focusai_location":"Philippines","focusai_target_profile":"ceo_executive (1.0), regulator (1.0), compliance_legal (1.0), operator_casino (1.0), affiliate_publisher (0.8), product_ux (0.7), tech_data (0.7), marketing_crm (0.7), payments_fraud_aml (1.0), investor_analyst (1.0), supplier_vendor (0.9), journalist_researcher (1.0)","focusai_suggestions":[{"label":"PAGCOR Privatization Timeline","query":"What is the projected timeline for the legal and governmental approvals required for PAGCOR's privatization, and what specific assets or operational segments are targeted for divestment?"},{"label":"Post-Privatization Regulatory Impact","query":"How will the separation of PAGCOR's commercial and regulatory functions specifically alter the licensing framework and ongoing compliance obligations for existing and prospective operators in the Philippines?"}],"footnotes":""},"categories":[24628,156,158,16333],"tags":[405,337,24804],"class_list":["post-777031489","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-highlight-of-the-week","category-regulation-news","category-slider-home","category-south-east-asia-news","tag-pagcor","tag-regulation","tag-the-philippines"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777031489","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/226"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=777031489"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777031489\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":777031497,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777031489\/revisions\/777031497"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16906"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=777031489"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=777031489"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=777031489"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}