Signal Spotlight · Philippine land-based gaming, regulation and technology (update)
What happened
PAGCOR Chairman and CEO Alejandro Tengco told Inside Asian Gaming at G2E in Las Vegas that integrated resorts must begin converting their tables to smart tables by January 1, 2027. “For integrated resorts, effective 1 January 2027, all integrated resorts must start, at the very least, the conversion of their tables to smart tables,” he said. The requirement applies to integrated resort licensees, and the initial implementation is limited to the four Entertainment City resorts: City of Dreams Manila, Okada Manila, Newport World Resorts, and Solaire Resort Entertainment City, as reported by Inside Asian Gaming, iGamingToday, and Focus Gaming News.
The date marks the start of the conversion process, not its completion. Tengco said some properties are already ahead of the requirement, and PAGCOR has not set a deadline for casinos outside Entertainment City. IAG’s earlier reporting named Solaire’s two properties, which use Angel’s hybrid system, and Newport World Resorts, which recently installed the Walker Digital Table Systems solution, as already running smart tables. Focus Gaming News reports that the four resorts recorded ₱148.7 billion (US$2.4 billion) in gross gaming revenue in 2025, and that PAGCOR is preparing to introduce smart tables and new electronic gaming machines at its own renovated Casino Filipino in Angeles City.
Why it matters
The two reports fit together once you separate what each one describes. The September 23 report, sourced to unnamed insiders, said a wider mandate covering casinos and integrated resorts nationwide was unlikely to be issued before at least the second half of 2027, with PAGCOR reluctant to demand heavy investment while casino revenues are under pressure. Tengco’s statement is narrower: a start-of-conversion date for the largest resorts. Our earlier piece described the delay as the real story. With a date now on record for Entertainment City, that framing is only half right. The delay still applies to everything outside Entertainment City, where no date exists.
The deadline lands unevenly. With Solaire’s two properties and Newport already equipped, the resorts with the most conversion apparently ahead are City of Dreams Manila and Okada Manila, though neither has said so. That makes a four-way scramble for vendors and installers unlikely. The pressure on suppliers is more likely to fall on two resorts than on the whole district.
A start requirement is also a low bar, and it appears to be chosen that way. It lets PAGCOR set a firm date and show direction without demanding full completion from operators in a soft revenue environment. That reading is ours, not PAGCOR’s. What PAGCOR gets is the thing smart tables are for: electronic records of bets and game activity as they happen, which gives the regulator table-level visibility instead of revenue totals after the fact. That fits the broader push for real-time oversight we’ve covered this year across online operators and their suppliers.
What to watch
Technical guidance. Tengco referred to “new guidelines,” but no technical specifications, certification standards, or approved vendor list have been reported. Operators can’t start procurement meaningfully without them.
A definition of “started.” Whether signing a vendor contract, ordering hardware, or installing the first table counts as starting the process will determine how binding the date is in practice.
A date for casinos outside Entertainment City. Tengco said the requirement applies to every integrated resort licensee, but PAGCOR has not set a deadline beyond the initial four. Any signal for regional casinos would reopen the wider timeline question.
Which resorts have actually begun. Announcements from City of Dreams Manila or Okada Manila, or supplier contract news, would show who is moving.
What this means for operators
If you run one of the four Entertainment City resorts, confirm your status against the January 1 start date now, and if you aren’t equipped, settle budget and project ownership before year-end. If you operate elsewhere, no date applies to you yet, but treat the Entertainment City timeline as the likely template and plan capital accordingly.
What this means for compliance
Table-level data will create new audit trails. Map how it will feed your AML transaction monitoring, and settle data governance questions about regulator access to floor feeds before systems go live. Involve compliance in vendor due diligence before contracts are signed.
What this means for industry bodies
The immediate ask is clarity: published technical specifications, a certified vendor list, and a definition of what counts as having started the conversion. Raising those now, while only two resorts apparently have significant work ahead, is easier than negotiating them after a wider mandate arrives.