Is online gambling banned in the Philippines? Status as of October 2026

Status box (27 October 2026)

Question	What we could confirm
Is licensed online gaming still operating?	Yes: PAGCOR publishes lists of registered brands and domains dated 20 October 2026 (domains).
Has a total ban been enacted?	We found none. Ban bills were filed in July 2025 (e.g. SB 142); PAGCOR opposed a total ban (legal overview).
Gambling ads?	A bill (SB 2347) would ban gambling ads; filed only (news).
E-sabong?	Suspended nationwide since EO 9 (warning).
Who may play?	21+, with restrictions for students and some officials; government workers may not gamble (CSC).
E-wallets?	GCash and Maya removed in-app links in August 2025 (what changed).
New licences?	None planned; licensees fell from 74 to 48 (news).

Who proposed what, and what PAGCOR said

The sourced picture is a set of bills and statements, not a law:

• July 2025 (SunStar, 16 Jul 2025): senators and House members filed or announced several bills: a total ban (Sen. Zubiri's SB 142, the Anti-Online Gambling Act of 2025), a ban even on PAGCOR-accredited platforms (Sen. Raffy Tulfo), and strict-regulation bills (Sens. Gatchalian and Ejercito, among others). The article reports filings, not votes, and the Palace said President Marcos was studying the calls (SunStar).
• 11 Feb 2026 (AGBrief): the report covers prime-time ad limits and PAGCOR's requirement that initial KYC come before depositing (AGBrief).
• August 2025 onward: the BSP-ordered removal of e-wallet gambling links is a payments rule, not a ban on gambling (what changed).

What "banned" can mean

Three different things get called a "ban": (1) a total ban on online gambling, proposed in bills but not enacted as far as we could confirm; (2) specific bans that do exist, such as e-sabong's suspension and the wind-down of offshore (POGO) licences; and (3) who may play, meaning age 21+ and groups barred from gambling (who can play). A site's being reachable from the Philippines does not make it licensed: PAGCOR's own list is the test.

What we could not confirm

The current stage of each bill (committee, plenary or lapsed). Bill status changes; check the Senate and House legislative trackers and PAGCOR's announcements. We did not open Senate records for this update, and sources that returned errors were not used.

Practical meaning

Use only sites on PAGCOR's lists: how to check. PAGCOR's chairman said in August 2026 that about half of accessible online gaming sites are illegal (scam signs). This is information, not legal advice; check the Senate website for bill status. 21+ only; gambling can be addictive, know when to stop (help).