Philippine Channelization Reportedly Fell to 50%. What the Number Does and Doesn’t Show.

Signal Spotlight · Philippine online gambling, payments and channelization

What happened

On 6 October, CDC Gaming published a column by Ben Blaschke, managing editor at Inside Asian Gaming, on channelization, meaning the share of play that goes to licensed operators instead of the black market. On the Philippines, it says PAGCOR's efforts to lower barriers to the regulated market pushed channelization to 75%, and that it later fell to about 50% after the central bank ordered e-wallets to remove direct links to licensed gambling sites. It cites Arden Consult, whose paper calls channelization "the more important measure" for judging gambling reform.

What the numbers do and do not show

The 50% figure has a firmer source elsewhere. Asgam reported on 17 September that PAGCOR put channelization at about 50% at the IAG Expo in Manila, and that as much as 75% of play was reportedly going to regulated sites before the delinking. So the current figure comes from the regulator, and the earlier one is reported but not documented in what we found.

The background is a Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas order in August 2025 telling e-wallet providers to remove in-app icons and links to online gambling sites. GCash and Maya complied. Licensed operators remained recognised as merchants, so players can still fund accounts, just not directly from the e-wallet app. The stated aims, as reported by IAG, were to prevent unauthorised transactions and improve monitoring.

Other measures from the same period point in the same direction, with caveats. PAGCOR Chairman Alejandro Tengco said licensed online transactions fell about 50% after the order. PAGCOR's Jessa Mariz Fernandez told a Senate committee in September 2025 that income fell 40% to 50% within the first two weeks, and AGB noted it was unclear whether that held beyond the initial period. A survey of 1,250 active players by The Fourth Wall found a 70% decline in participation on licensed sites and a 40% increase in players turning to illegal or unregulated sites, with a margin of error of 2%. The survey firm itself cautioned that total gambling may not be falling as much as it appears, because players may be moving to other platforms.

There is also a counterpoint. Tengco said online gaming still posted record gross gaming revenue of more than ₱200 billion in 2025, despite the delinking. A fall in channelization and a record year can both be true, which is a reason to be careful about reading one number as the whole story.

Why it matters

Channelization is a policy outcome measure, not only an industry metric. If a rule meant to protect consumers moves players from supervised sites to unsupervised ones, it can work against its own aim. That is the argument the CDC column makes, and the Fourth Wall survey's warning about players being redirected to riskier environments fits it.

The other side is the BSP's concern. Its September draft amendments to the payment systems rules would require payment providers to see through layered arrangements, and would accept casino and wagering operators only under a direct merchant arrangement. The trigger was thousands of tiny late-night payments, which were bets on online casinos, received by more than 8,000 merchants posing as small retailers. Those accounts have been closed. Deputy Governor Mamerto Tangonan said the aim is to protect consumers from fraud, illegal activity and money laundering.