The Philippine gaming regulatory body PAGCOR released data on July 29th, showing that the national gaming revenue reached 214.75 billion pesos (approximately 3.75 billion US dollars) in the first half of 2025, a 26% increase year-over-year, setting a new historical high. Among them, online gaming (eGames) revenue exceeded 2 billion US dollars for the first time, accounting for more than 53%, surpassing physical casinos for the first time as the main driver of industry growth.
Data shows that licensed casinos contributed 1.65 billion US dollars, accounting for 43.4%; PAGCOR-operated casinos only accounted for 3.1%. In contrast, the eGames sector, which includes electronic gaming and bingo, drew nearly 2 billion US dollars, becoming the largest engine.
However, as revenue soared, PAGCOR also began to tighten regulations. Chairman Tengco stated that development must consider responsibility, and has signed an agreement with the Advertising Standards Council to completely remove gambling advertisements from public places and prime-time television by mid-August to curb the proliferation of online gambling.
Although some politicians have called for a complete ban on online gambling, President Marcos did not explicitly state his position in the State of the Nation Address, leaving policy direction still uncertain. The industry believes that the future of the Philippine gaming industry will face a critical choice between "regulation" and "revenue generation".
