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Regulatory · Philippines · Thu 3 Sept · 3 min read

PAGCOR moratorium holds at 48 operators; exit window is now

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What happened

PAGCOR Chairman Alejandro Tengco confirmed at a House Committee on Appropriations hearing that the moratorium on new online gaming licences, introduced in March 2024, will remain in place. The licensed operator count has fallen from 74 to 48. PAGCOR is actively moving to cancel licences held by non-operating entities that were sitting on approvals for resale. The 30% GGR fee for e-gaming operators stays unchanged. Integrated resort operators continue to pay 25%.

Why it matters

Sources: Focus Gaming News

  1. PAGCOR revenue collapse is worse than it looksA 27% revenue drop and 85% net income collapse at PAGCOR in H1 2026, driven by e-games weakness, is not a soft patch. It is a structural signal that the segment operators have been building Philippine online revenue around is contracting in the regulated channel. This lands on top of the 7% GGR contraction already projected for the year and S&P's bottom-half ranking of Philippine gaming credit quality. Operators in PAGCOR license renewal or expansion approval conversations should expect a regulator under fiscal pressure to be simultaneously more demanding on compliance and more motivated to process revenue-generating approvals quickly. Use that tension strategically.Market
  2. PH iGaming GGR projected to drop 7%A 7% GGR contraction following the online gambling crackdown means operators need to stop modeling 2025 revenue as a baseline and start treating contraction as the operating environment. The crackdown removed volume without removing the cost structure underneath it, so margin pressure is the immediate management problem. Operators with PAGCOR license renewal conversations coming up should frame their compliance posture proactively now, because a regulator managing a contracting sector is a more demanding counterparty than one riding growth.Regulatory
  3. PAGCOR's App and Its License Freeze Are the Same Strategy, Just From Opposite EndsWe covered PAGCOR's consumer app and its license moratorium separately. Together, they're one plan: restrict supply, then redirect demand toward whoever's left. Q2 GGR fell 20.33%, which is exactly why PAGCOR stopped relying on enforcement alone. Here's the real risk in the plan, and it isn't strategic.iGaming