to remain properly regulated, socially responsible, and genuinely beneficial to the communities it serves<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\nPAGCOR chairman and CEO Alejandro H. Tengco said: \u201cAs regulators and industry leaders, we have the obligation of ensuring that innovation is matched by accountability, and that industry progress remains aligned with social responsibility and public welfare.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Asia\u2019s rapidly expanding digital gaming and online entertainment sector took centre stage today during SiGMA Asia, bringing together regulators, investors, and technology companies as the region\u2019s digital economy continues to grow at scale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Emily Micallef, CEO of SiGMA World, commented: \u201cAsia has become the largest igaming market, with over 250 million active users and a $45.5bn market size. Southeast Asia is the primary growth engine driving rising revenues.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The summit, taking place at the SMX Convention Center from May 31 to June 3<\/strong>, brings together delegates from gaming, fintech, AI, blockchain, and emerging technology sectors from across Asia, Europe and Latin America as international interest in Asian digital markets accelerates.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe opening ceremony was attended by:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n- Deputy Speaker Hon. Maria Rachel Arenas<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
\n- PAGCOR chair & CEO Alejandro H. Tengco<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
\n- Emily Micallef, CEO SiGMA World<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
During the opening session, Emily Micallef, CEO of SiGMA World, highlighted that the Philippines has emerged as the regulatory anchor of the region<\/strong>. She noted that this aligns closely with SiGMA’s mission of bringing together governments, regulators, and businesses to advance sustainable industry growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n“Governments and businesses around the world are realising that regulation is the only way forward,” Micallef said. She added that SiGMA has been travelling globally, promoting this message and encouraging greater collaboration to foster a well-regulated, responsible, and sustainable gaming industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
PAGCOR chairman and CEO Alejandro H. Tengco said: \u201cPAGCOR has always recognised the importance of the gaming industry as a critical source for government funding and a true partner in nation-building. Every peso that we generate directly benefits programmes for healthcare, education, infrastructure, disaster response, and other essential public services.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Discussions throughout the summit are expected to focus on regulation, artificial intelligence, digital payments, blockchain infrastructure, and the future of online entertainment markets across Asia as governments and operators respond to accelerating digital adoption across the region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to the SiGMA Asia Market Report<\/strong>, Asia\u2019s igaming market generated an estimated $45.5bn in cumulative revenue between April 2025 and March 2026, with more than 155.7 million active players across 28 Asian markets. The report also highlighted Southeast Asia as one of the region\u2019s strongest growth areas, driven by rising smartphone usage, digital payment adoption and increasing online engagement.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe SiGMA Asia Market Report identified the Philippines as one of Asia\u2019s leading regulated gaming markets, recording monthly revenue peaks exceeding $1bn over the past year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The summit continues tomorrow with discussions focused on market regulation, investment trends and emerging technologies shaping Asia\u2019s rapidly evolving digital sectors.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation chairman and CEO Alejandro H. Tengco has called for responsible and regulated industry growth.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":218,"featured_media":777043055,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"is_press_release":true,"is_interview":false,"is_opinion":false,"focusai_summary":"PAGCOR Chairman and CEO Alejandro H. Tengco opened the SiGMA Asia Summit, advocating for responsible and regulated iGaming growth in Asia, emphasizing accountability and social responsibility. The summit highlighted Asia's $45.5bn iGaming market, with the Philippines emerging as a key regulatory anchor and Southeast Asia as a primary growth engine.","focusai_entities":"Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation, PAGCOR, Alejandro H. Tengco, SiGMA Asia Summit, SiGMA World, Emily Micallef, Hon. Maria Rachel Arenas","focusai_location":"Philippines, Manila, Asia, Southeast Asia, Europe, Latin America","focusai_target_profile":"ceo_executive (0.9), regulator (1.0), compliance_legal (0.9), operator_casino (0.85), payments_fraud_aml (0.75), investor_analyst (0.95), supplier_vendor (0.8), journalist_researcher (0.95)","focusai_suggestions":[{"label":"PAGCOR's Regulatory Stance","query":"How might PAGCOR's emphasis on responsible and regulated growth influence the pace and nature of iGaming market liberalization across other Southeast Asian jurisdictions?"},{"label":"Investment in Regulated Markets","query":"Given the Philippines' emergence as a 'regulatory anchor' and its significant revenue peaks, what specific investment opportunities or challenges does this present for international operators and suppliers seeking market entry?"}],"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,159,24983,16333],"tags":[25271],"class_list":["post-777043035","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-events-articles","category-shows","category-sigma-asia-2026","category-south-east-asia-news","tag-sigma-asia-2026","press-release"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777043035","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\/218"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=777043035"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777043035\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":777043059,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777043035\/revisions\/777043059"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/777043055"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=777043035"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=777043035"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=777043035"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}