Here’s the status as of October 2026: no law bans PAGCOR-licensed online gambling in the Philippines. The ban bills are still pending. A GMA News tracker dated 26 July 2026 listed the “Law on Online Gambling” as a priority measure still pending at committee level in both the Senate and the House. Since then we have found no report of a committee report, plenary vote or bicameral action on any of them.
Most coverage you’ll find dates from mid-2025, when the ban talk peaked. The actual changes so far have been to offshore gaming and to how GCash and Maya handle gambling.
Short answer: nothing has been banned yet
If you are 21 or older and play on a PAGCOR-licensed site, that is still legal. Unlicensed sites, offshore operators, “agents” and online sabong are not. Some people can’t play even on licensed sites: government employees, AFP and PNP members, students, and anyone on the National Database of Restricted Persons (NDRP). Our licensing explainer covers who can play and how to check a licence.
What is already law
The Anti-POGO Act (RA 12312) covers offshore gaming only
Republic Act 12312, the Anti-POGO Act of 2025, was approved on 23 October 2025. Philstar reported that it bans setting up or running offshore gaming operations, revokes POGO licences and repeals the 2021 POGO tax law. Under the text of the law on Lawphil, a first offence carries 6 to 8 years in prison and a fine of at least ₱15 million. A third offence carries more than 10 and up to 12 years, and ₱30 million to ₱50 million.
The law defines offshore gaming as games offered from the Philippines to players abroad. It does not ban PAGCOR-licensed online games offered to players in the country.
E-sabong stays off
Online cockfighting has been stopped since May 2022, when then-President Duterte ordered it to end. Any site offering it is illegal. See our sabong section for background.
Law vs proposal at a glance
| Measure | Status (October 2026) | Who it affects |
|---|---|---|
| RA 12312, Anti-POGO Act | Law since October 2025 | Offshore gaming operators |
| BSP order removing in-app gambling links (August 2025) | In force (a regulator’s order, not a law) | BSP-supervised banks and e-wallets, including GCash and Maya |
| PAGCOR KYC, ad rules and licence freeze | In force (regulator rules) | Licensed operators and their players |
| Ban bills (e.g. SB 47, HB 1876) | Pending; no committee report found | All online gambling, if passed as filed |
| BSP draft on gambling payments (July 2025) | Draft; no final version found | E-wallets, banks and their users |
| BSP draft on payment-system integrity (September 2026) | Draft | Payment providers and how they onboard merchants |
The ban bills in the Senate and House
The best-known Senate measure is Senate Bill 47, the “Anti-Online Gambling Act” by Sen. Joel Villanueva. In August 2025 Philstar reported it was among the Senate’s top 10 priority measures.
Other senators filed or promised ban bills in July 2025. According to GMA News, Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri filed one on 7 July. Sen. Loren Legarda filed a comprehensive ban under which the DOJ, DICT and NTC would coordinate site blocking, and internet providers would have 48 hours to comply. Sen. Raffy Tulfo said he would file for a total ban covering PAGCOR-accredited platforms too.
Other bills aim at payments rather than a full ban. Sen. Risa Hontiveros filed a bill seeking to ban online gambling access in e-wallets and super apps, GMA reported. Sen. Sherwin “Win” Gatchalian’s bill regulates gambling and would bar linking e-wallets to gambling sites.
In the House, Manila Rep. Benny Abante filed House Bill 1876 to ban online gambling and offsite betting, GMA reported. We found no House committee action on it in 2026.
The Senate Committee on Games and Amusements, chaired by Sen. Erwin Tulfo, held a hearing on 14 August 2025 and resumed its inquiry on 11 February 2026. In August 2025 Philstar reported that Tulfo wanted online gambling prohibited altogether, while PAGCOR and the Department of Finance have pushed for stricter regulation and higher taxes instead.
PAGCOR and the Palace: regulate, not ban
In September 2025, PAGCOR chair Alejandro Tengco said: “We support stricter regulations to protect our people, but we are against a total ban” (PAGCOR). In August 2025, Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said a ban should be studied carefully because it may affect even licensed operators, GMA News reported. We found no new 2026 Palace statement on a ban.
In 2026, PAGCOR has tightened its rules:
- January: it said it had adopted stricter KYC, mandatory self-exclusion and betting limits, tighter ad controls and limits on some payment channels (Philstar).
- February: at the Senate hearing, PAGCOR said gambling ads were already banned on TV and radio during primetime (5:30 to 8:30 pm). It added that it was studying a total ban with the Advertising Standards Council (GMA).
- August: licensed online operators were down to 48 from 74, with no new licences under a moratorium dating from March 2024. One operator was fined ₱1 million over an influencer-promoted phone giveaway (Philstar).
So the licensed market is getting smaller and stricter. It hasn’t been shut down.
GCash, Maya and the BSP
This is the change players have actually felt. In August 2025 the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas ordered the banks and e-wallets it supervises to remove in-app gambling links within 48 hours, until it finalises its policy on online gambling payments (Philstar). Gaming access through GCash and Maya was suspended from 8 pm on 16 August, the Inquirer reported. In July 2026, Philstar’s coverage of a prospectus from GCash parent Mynt said Mynt had suspended GLife’s in-app gaming features to comply, and that the hit to revenue ran into early 2026. We found no report that they have been restored. Our GCash and Maya explainer covers what that means for users.
Two BSP drafts are pending. Neither is in force.
July 2025 draft. According to GMA, this exposure draft would require a separate online-gambling transaction account, opened with facial biometric checks. Transfers into it would be capped each day at 20% of the average daily balance of the user’s transaction account, within a six-hour window. Once you hit the limits, you could only transfer again after 24 hours, and all lending options on the platform would be switched off. We found no final version.
September 2026 draft. This one is a general rule on payment-system integrity and covers how payment providers onboard merchants. It is not an e-wallet gambling rule. Philstar reported that casinos and gaming providers that directly handle player funds could be onboarded only through direct arrangements, with closer checks, monitoring and limits on transactions and settlement. Layered merchant set-ups would be restricted, and applications for new payment system operators would be put on hold for 12 months.
What each scenario would mean for you
Nothing changes. Licensed play stays legal for eligible adults. GLife and Maya’s gaming section stay closed, so you keep using the deposit methods your licensed site offers, with its ID checks. Our deposit guide walks through this.
The July 2025 BSP draft is adopted as written. Take an average daily balance of ₱5,000. A 20% cap means at most ₱1,000 a day could go into the gambling account, and only within a six-hour window. You couldn’t fund it with a loan. So on payday, the 15th or the 30th, you couldn’t move a big chunk of your sweldo in all at once. This is a draft, and the final numbers could differ or never take effect.
The September 2026 draft is adopted. It would mainly change how payment firms deal with gaming merchants, not whether you can play. The sources don’t spell out the effect on individual players.
A ban bill passes. That would first need a committee report and votes in both chambers, and none of these has happened. Under the strictest versions, PAGCOR-licensed platforms would be illegal too, and Legarda’s version adds blocking by internet providers. The final text could differ a lot from the bills as filed.
What to watch next
- A Senate committee report on SB 47 or a substitute bill. That would be the first real sign of movement.
- A final BSP circular on gambling payments, or a final version of the September 2026 draft.
- PAGCOR widening the ad ban beyond primetime, or ending the licence moratorium.
We’ll update our “what could change next” section when any of these moves.
Only gamble with money you can afford to lose, never the rent, tuition or grocery money. If it stops being fun, look into self-exclusion and ask for help. 21+ only.
Last checked: October 2026.
