BSP joins PAGCOR in junket crackdown

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) issued new guidance directing banks and all BSP-supervised financial institutions (BSFIs) to strengthen AML/CFT controls specifically for customers involved in casino junket operations. The guidance follows a thematic review the BSP conducted on how junket-related funds move through the Philippine banking system. This is not a blanket casino advisory. It targets junket clients as a distinct, higher-risk category requiring enhanced due diligence.

This moves in parallel with PAGCOR's own tightening on the licensing and capital-flow side. PAGCOR has previously identified VIP rooms and junket arrangements as AML weak points and has been restricting how operators can structure those programs. The BSP circular now applies pressure from the financial infrastructure side, meaning the banks that process the transfers, hold the accounts, and issue credit that junket economics depend on.

Junket operations require a functioning banking relationship at almost every step. Junket promoters move large volumes of cash or chips across borders, settle accounts with operators, and extend rolling credit to high rollers. Each of those steps now faces a banking counterparty that has been formally told to scrutinize the transaction. The practical result is more suspicious transaction reports (STRs) filed, slower or refused transfers, and banks quietly offboarding clients they identify as junket-adjacent.