Tengco sets legislative clock on PH online gaming law

PAGCOR Chairman Alejandro Tengco has publicly stated he wants a comprehensive online gaming law passed before his term ends. The statement came in an interview at IAG EXPO and was reported by ASGAM on 28 September 2026. By tying the legislative outcome to his own tenure, Tengco has moved the online gaming law from a background policy ambition to a named personal priority with an implicit deadline.

The Philippines currently regulates online gaming through PAGCOR administrative orders rather than a dedicated statute. That means the licensing architecture, tax rates, and the regulatory perimeter for all online gaming categories, including POGOs, IGaming, and domestic platforms, rest on orders that a future PAGCOR board or administration could revise or revoke without legislative process.

A standalone online gaming law would do several things that administrative orders cannot. It would entrench the licensing framework in statute, making it harder for a successor administration to tear it down or reshape it quickly. It would also give the tax structure constitutional and legislative backing, which matters for revenue certainty on both the government and operator sides.