PAGCOR app is end-2026; whitelist strategy starts now

PAGCOR Chairman Alejandro H. Tengco confirmed during a budget hearing that the corporation will launch a mobile application before the end of 2026. The app is designed to help players verify whether an online gaming platform is licensed. It will sit alongside the existing PAGCOR Guarantee website, not replace it, giving players a second, more accessible verification channel. Tengco framed the announcement around player protection and the broader push to prosecute illegal operators.

This is a public-facing compliance tool, not a back-office one. Its audience is players, not regulators. That distinction changes the stakes for licensed operators significantly.