PAGCOR tightens rules, but Offshore Casinos remain accessible

[Cryptomultiplier]

They still haven't resolved those issues, and they are already posting about recent winners of millions of pesos. I know it because I was notified on my phone. BingoPlus, to be exact.

I still play on local online casinos, but only very mildly. I don't really want to end up the same way as those gamblers who won a big amount and then ended up unable to receive it because they say it's a glitch or whatever reason they can get.
For me, offshore gambling is still the best choice. Well, they are still accessible, and you can definitely play. Just be careful with the withdrawals because you don't want to end up being a target of the government. Slow and stay within the amount bracket.

This makes gambling all the more less fun and more like a criminal activity that one always has to look over their shoulders Incase the government is beginning to want to catch up with you.

It's the futility of such local bans that's to blame though, seeing that it has caused more markets to go underground and now players are more scared of being caught or winning large unrecoverable sums.

It would be better if the government does more educate and then increase taxes so gamblers can gamble freely instead of hiding to do so or they better just close up all loopholes with a tight firewall that prevents even offshore gambling activities, instead of such kind of scenario.

[Alex077]

They still haven't resolved those issues, and they are already posting about recent winners of millions of pesos. I know it because I was notified on my phone. BingoPlus, to be exact.
...

This makes gambling all the more less fun and more like a criminal activity that one always has to look over their shoulders Incase the government is beginning to want to catch up with you.
It's the futility of such local bans that's to blame though, seeing that it has caused more markets to go underground and now players are more scared of being caught or winning large unrecoverable sums.

I think bans on online casinos don't always produce the results regulators are hoping for. If people still want to gamble, they'll simply start looking for alternative platforms, including offshore casinos that might not even have a license in their country. As a result, the government loses the ability to effectively regulate these platforms, while players themselves are left with practically no protection if a casino refuses to pay out their winnings.

As for BingoPlus, if the platform really is refusing to pay out large winnings by blaming technical glitches, these cases should be investigated by an independent regulator. At the same time, each case needs to be looked at individually, since not every disputed win necessarily means the casino is cheating.

Complete bans might only push part of the market underground, where the risks for players would be even higher.

[Kelward]

~ With that being said, I disagree with blocking websites, but I support the idea of financial awareness and making reporting about unfair treatment easier.

~Regulation should be the best option. Some casinos are designed to scam or take advantage of people. Therefore, the government needs to ensure that its citizens are protected. Blocking unregistered or fraudulent casinos should be the main thrust of the government instead of outright banning.

If they leave legitimate online casinos that pay taxes and don't scam their users, it will be beneficial for both the government and gamblers in the Philippines. The government gets money in the form of taxes, and gamblers get a number of legit sites to play on. They don't have to register on illegal sites where they could be scammed, which is exactly what they would certainly end up doing using a VPN if all gambling sites in their country were banned.

It is easier for people who live in a country that doesn't allow gambling from their origine, they won't miss gambling because they have never gambled before but for a country that have legalized gambling and their citizens are used to it if you come out to ban gambling it wouldn't be very easy. With online gambling what they have to do is bypass your jurisdiction and patronize offshore gambling sites, so a ban on gambling doesn't quite stop serious gamblers from accessing gambling sites.

For a country like Philippine, whose gambling community is very active what their government have to do is to strictly regulate their gambling industry because banning cannot eliminate online gambling. Do the right thing and take your revenue from the gambling sites, it's a win win for the government and the gambling sites. Gamblers are left to share in the profit only when they win.

[CryptoBuds]

For me, offshore gambling is still the best choice. Well, they are still accessible, and you can definitely play. Just be careful with the withdrawals because you don't want to end up being a target of the government. Slow and stay within the amount bracket.

However any casino being accessible and it being legally authorised are not same thing.

If I recall correctly, licenses and authorizations of Philippine offshore gaming operator were revoked starting last year. So, just because it is possible to play on any offshore casino, it would be incorrect to assume that it is safe or regulator approved.

And your suggestion to make withdrawal gradually or to keep them within certain amount, does not seem like any real solution to me. This will not eliminate legal and financial risk for player. Instead, it will create situation where they might feel compelled to conceal their own behavior.

[Nwada001]

The government can't really be unaware that offshore casinos are easy to reach. If they truly wanted to cut people off from online gambling, they'd have to block VPNs too, and that's basically a sovereign internet with 1984 around the corner. Not a great outlook

There is really little to nothing that the government can do about blocking access to offshore casinos. If there were many countries that could have just limited access to force casinos to gain licenses and their citizens to only play theirs, even if they tried to block gambling domains and limit the use of VPNs, it’s still not going to be 100% effective.

[Moreno233]

The government can't really be unaware that offshore casinos are easy to reach. If they truly wanted to cut people off from online gambling, they'd have to block VPNs too, and that's basically a sovereign internet with 1984 around the corner. Not a great outlook

There is really little to nothing that the government can do about blocking access to offshore casinos. If there were many countries that could have just limited access to force casinos to gain licenses and their citizens to only play theirs, even if they tried to block gambling domains and limit the use of VPNs, it’s still not going to be 100% effective.

Governments can do a lot to limit access to offshore casino sights. They can ban their IP address and that will affect a lot of people from accessing gambling sites that forbids the use of VPN. Some people may use the mobile application of sites that have one to evade this but that will not work as perfectly as using their website.

[Nwada001]

There is really little to nothing that the government can do about blocking access to offshore casinos. If there were many countries that could have just limited access to force casinos to gain licenses and their citizens to only play theirs, even if they tried to block gambling domains and limit the use of VPNs, it’s still not going to be 100% effective.

Governments can do a lot to limit access to offshore casino sights. They can ban their IP address and that will affect a lot of people from accessing gambling sites that forbids the use of VPN. Some people may use the mobile application of sites that have one to evade this but that will not work as perfectly as using their website.

They are offshore casinos for a reason; they are legal somewhere and considered illegal elsewhere because they don’t have licenses. If the casino doesn't have an app, the players don’t necessarily need to use a direct free VPN that constantly changes location; they can use browsers like Opera Mini, which have built-in VPNs, and will access the casino freely. And what will even make things way more easily is if the players are using a crypto funding method.

[Oasisman]

So a country can be strict with its rules but still cannot stop people from accessing offshore casinos, are they just fooling themselves? I mean the problem is also outside their jurisdiction and they are not fully addressing it.

No they're not, but they are fooling the people instead, lol.
These corrupt government doesn't really care if their people get addicted or gamble to an illegal online casinos, as long as they get money from the gambling platforms. All these "tightening of rules" are just for formality, as if they are really concerned about the rising gambling problems the country is facing.
The questions is, did they really stop issuing lincenses? or they want more money (under the table) to release new licenses?

With all these "tightening of rules" and "restrictions" against illegal gambling and online gambling in general the government is blabbering about, I don't even feel any changes. In fact, some small content  creators are still promoting illegal websites. 

[promise444c5]

Offshore Casinos are convenient and allows you to bypass  restrictions but the moment you face a problem involving your deposit and profit getting stuck, it could become a bit hard to fix it depending on a lot of factors especially if your choice is a non-reputable Casino..

Otherwise, the government and their rules don’t really care how you spend your money most times,  unless you’re under their radar.

If they can benefit from the situation, then it might be possible to help you with some fines or something worse but in most cases it’s always hard.

[Asuspawer09]

They're just setting the rules, but most of the time i guess this is just all about business and money since they are just requiring the casinos to be registered whatsoever, they want money and regulate all of them. The problem is that not all casinos are going to be registered for sure unless they are actually operating locally so they just cannot expect offshore casinos to be registered and regulated in the Philippines. Why would an offshore casino be registered on that.

My guess is it is just that they already implement it, they just put the rules, put a little of restriction to the offshore casino just to make a priority to the registered one, but it is not totally banned to access offshore casino because they just can't banned it anyway and there was nothing they could do if someone want to play on offshore casino they cannot fully blocked it.

[alani123]

There's very little that could be done to restrict access to offshore casinos 100%.

It would either take draconian internet measures in the way Israel restricts access to the Palestinians' access to the internet for instance by throttling and controlling all traffic sources and even interfering with mobile internet. And it would also take a lot of effort to restrict capital flight. If people find access to crypto they'll always preffer to put their money on offshore casinos because the deal they can get is usually better. Lower house edge, provable fairness, better odds sometimes too. Regular gamblers can't say no to that.

[Smartprofit]

In my opinion, it's foolish for a state to try to achieve its strategic goals through bans and restrictions. As the saying goes, "If you want to keep someone, let them go!" 🙋

If states want players to play in their licensed casinos, they need to make them as convenient and comfortable as possible. Blocking offshore casinos is impossible, as there are countless ways to circumvent internet blocking. Faced with bans, people quickly learn to use these tools. For example, the strictest internet restrictions and bans were imposed in Russia (not counting North Korea, of course). And yet, even a 90-year-old grandmother in Russia knows how to use a VPN.

States first create licensed casinos and then begin to strictly regulate them (for example, by limiting their ability to advertise their services online). However, offshore casinos are not bound by these restrictions! Therefore, their businesses are more successful than those of casinos with national licenses.

Bureaucrats kill any business. Bureaucrats only know how to ban and restrict!  They don't know how to create and be creative. 🤷

[Kelvinid]

The government can't really be unaware that offshore casinos are easy to reach. If they truly wanted to cut people off from online gambling, they'd have to block VPNs too, and that's basically a sovereign internet with 1984 around the corner. Not a great outlook

There is really little to nothing that the government can do about blocking access to offshore casinos. If there were many countries that could have just limited access to force casinos to gain licenses and their citizens to only play theirs, even if they tried to block gambling domains and limit the use of VPNs, it’s still not going to be 100% effective.

But come to think of it, if they are secretly still making revenues and benefits from those legally operating offshore casinos, then there's no reason they will have to block all the domains and limit the use of VPNs.

Their personal interest weighs more than the security of the gamblers themselves. I hate to say this but everyone who believed that gamblers are being protected by the government is a big lie, the government are protecting not to lose their income, not the people and the gamblers income.

[Adiljutt156]

This makes gambling all the more less fun and more like a criminal activity that one always has to look over their shoulders Incase the government is beginning to want to catch up with you.

It's the futility of such local bans that's to blame though, seeing that it has caused more markets to go underground and now players are more scared of being caught or winning large unrecoverable sums.

It would be better if the government does more educate and then increase taxes so gamblers can gamble freely instead of hiding to do so or they better just close up all loopholes with a tight firewall that prevents even offshore gambling activities, instead of such kind of scenario.

Gambling always faces challenges and systematical issues in developing countries because governments want to collect taxes, but they also have enough things to manage with them as well. In many countries increased addiction increases crimes and many other social problems; just because of this, things never stay on level, and they have decisions like this ban or other regulations that never work.

Going underground means they are now having nothing with governments; they are allowing people to do illegal things and push criminals, who are always waiting for chances like this, which are also never helpful for them, and they face more problems for having control and awareness.

Always having them start social activities and increased taxes is a much better idea because with these things they have much better revenue and control of everything, which gives them a better way of fighting against this.

[rbynxx]

With all these "tightening of rules" and "restrictions" against illegal gambling and online gambling in general the government is blabbering about, I don't even feel any changes. In fact, some small content  creators are still promoting illegal websites. 

Not just small content creators but even the huge and notable people who got lot of followers. Well, people themselves are to be blamed considering they know gambling is a red flag itself. For me, it really is just for formality with all these blabberings and they don't really care as long as they can collect taxes. I really have doubts about the current administration.

[fullfitlarry]

With all these "tightening of rules" and "restrictions" against illegal gambling and online gambling in general the government is blabbering about, I don't even feel any changes. In fact, some small content  creators are still promoting illegal websites. 

Not just small content creators but even the huge and notable people who got lot of followers. Well, people themselves are to be blamed considering they know gambling is a red flag itself. For me, it really is just for formality with all these blabberings and they don't really care as long as they can collect taxes. I really have doubts about the current administration.

Yes, and still Jili's "scatter" game is the most played online games for sure as this has been promoted by many content creators in our country. And so even if you just go around you will hear ordinary people playing it at the side.

That's how rampant gambling is in the Philippines right now that people upon waking up is already in their phone playing. And the government hasn't do anything but just for the media and clout and telling the people that they are doing everything but it's obvious that gambling is still here whether playing in legal/illegal gambling sites.

[bisdak40]

So a country can be strict with its rules but still cannot stop people from accessing offshore casinos, are they just fooling themselves? I mean the problem is also outside their jurisdiction and they are not fully addressing it.

No they're not, but they are fooling the people instead, lol.
These corrupt government doesn't really care if their people get addicted or gamble to an illegal online casinos, as long as they get money from the gambling platforms. All these "tightening of rules" are just for formality, as if they are really concerned about the rising gambling problems the country is facing.
The questions is, did they really stop issuing lincenses? or they want more money (under the table) to release new licenses?

With all these "tightening of rules" and "restrictions" against illegal gambling and online gambling in general the government is blabbering about, I don't even feel any changes. In fact, some small content  creators are still promoting illegal websites. 

You are right, they are just after the money that these gambling platforms will give to them and they would not care whatever it is will happen to the gamblers that will use these platforms. One example of this is the issue wherein there are individuals that went to PAGCOR to ask for help so that they will be paid on their winning that amounted to billion of pesos but instead of helping, PAGCOR has offered only 300k pesos to the complainants as a settlement of what they called a "glitch". It is very unfair for PAGCOR to do that because gamblers has been losing so much money playing and never complain of a glitch but now that somebody is winning billions they called it a glitch.

[Hispo]

With all these "tightening of rules" and "restrictions" against illegal gambling and online gambling in general the government is blabbering about, I don't even feel any changes. In fact, some small content  creators are still promoting illegal websites. 

Not just small content creators but even the huge and notable people who got lot of followers. Well, people themselves are to be blamed considering they know gambling is a red flag itself. For me, it really is just for formality with all these blabberings and they don't really care as long as they can collect taxes. I really have doubts about the current administration.

That is one thing which I have noticed about some conservative governments around the world, they talk very badly about gambling and betting within their own societies and how gambling can harm families and the economy as a whole (that also depends whether we are talking about Asia, where gambling is very common and culturally acceptable), but when it comes to taxing and getting money from casinos and gamblers, governments seem to be willing to turn a blind eye on what both legal and illegal gambling does to one's society and those who could get addicted to gambling.

When comes to money and power, politicians know pretty well what to do to keep both on their side.

[Mr. Magkaisa]

The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) is targeting December 2026 for the launch of a mobile application that will help players identify licensed online gaming platforms and avoid illegal gambling sites.
I dont know what the app will be but do they really need to make an app or just publish the list of legit and legal Online casino on their website. for more information you can visit PAGCOR

[perfect999]

In Europe it is the same as in your country. What you don’t realise is that what governments are really after is revenue. Protecting consumers is just an excuse. Through national licences, they generate revenue, and they know that a certain percentage of gamblers slip through the net because they access offshore casinos, but the fact is that they used to collect nothing, and now they collect a fair amount. That’s what matters to them.

But, if governments do not regulate then casinos will accommodate even under age people as well. I mean to say, there are pros also available out of government's regulations. If government would not issue national licences, then casino operators will be threaten by local police or other revenue related officials to collect brief but with licence, casino operators will become fully compliance then they can freely operate a casino with all the facilities/games that are allowed by law.

If governments failed to regulate then there would be regular troubles for casino owners in the free market. By regulating, government generates revenue along with creating a safer environment for both gamblers and casino owners.