Recent Coverage
PAGCOR's Minimum Guaranteed Fee Takes Effect June 1 — and a New Cap on Player Rebates Comes With It
After a two-month deferral, PAGCOR's Minimum Guaranteed Fee regime for licensed online gaming began its first tranche on June 1, 2026, running through December 31. Arriving alongside it is a May 7 memorandum capping player rebate and cashback programs at 1.5 percent of turnover — or 15 percent of net losses — and barring operators from deducting those promotions from gross gaming revenue. Together the measures reset the cost floor and the marketing ceiling for every PAGCOR-licensed online operator.
Why PAGCOR's Cashback Cap Tilts the Table Toward the Giants
PAGCOR's new 1.5 percent cap on player rebates was announced as a measure to level the online gaming playing field, and DigiPlus — the operator that controls roughly half the licensed market — publicly welcomed it. That endorsement is the tell. This analysis works through why a cap on cashback, paired with the minimum guaranteed fee that took effect June 1, removes the main competitive lever sub-scale operators had against a dominant incumbent, and why the predictable result is faster market consolidation rather than a fairer fight.
DigiPlus Leads Launch of PlaySafe Alliance as PAGCOR Doubles Down on Responsible Gaming
DigiPlus has joined with other PAGCOR-licensed online operators to launch the PlaySafe Alliance of the Philippines, an industry responsible-gaming body that arrives the same week PAGCOR Chairman Alejandro Tengco told SiGMA Asia in Pasay City that regulators and operators must strengthen player safeguards amid softer market conditions. The alliance is a genuine consumer-protection build-out — and, read against the Senate's live total-ban debate, an unmistakable reputational defense by an industry arguing it can regulate itself rather than be banned.
Text Blasters: The Post-POGO Scam Hardware the PNP Is Now Hunting
When the Philippines shut down its offshore gaming operators in 2024, the buildings emptied — but the equipment did not vanish. Ex-POGO workers are now salvaging multi-port GSM 'text blasters' from abandoned sites and peddling them on social media, and the PNP has launched a nationwide crackdown on the trade. These devices hijack nearby phones to push smishing at scale. This is what a text blaster is, why post-POGO labor displacement keeps feeding the scam economy, and how Filipino consumers are being targeted.
The Bill That Could Replace the Patchwork: Inside the Philippines' New Comprehensive iGaming Framework
The Senate and PAGCOR are jointly drafting a single comprehensive law to govern the Philippine online gaming sector — replacing the current memorandum-by-memorandum patchwork with a unified framework covering payment-channel controls, marketing restrictions, and consumer protection. DigiPlus sits on the technical working group. This analysis maps what a comprehensive iGaming law would change, why the licensed industry wants the certainty it offers, and why it is being drafted in direct tension with the Senate camp that would rather ban online gambling outright.
How to Spot an Illegal Betting Site During the World Cup: A Philippine Player's Checklist
The 2026 World Cup will flood Philippine feeds with slick offshore betting ads. Most are not legal to take your bet, and a dispute leaves you with no recourse. This is a plain checklist for telling a PAGCOR-licensed sportsbook from an unlicensed one before you deposit a single peso — license verification, the red flags, and what to do if you've already paid in.
Do You Pay Tax on Betting Winnings in the Philippines? A World Cup Explainer
If you win a World Cup bet, does the BIR take a cut? The honest answer depends on what you bet on and where. This explainer separates PCSO lotto (which carries a 20% final tax) from PAGCOR-licensed sports betting, explains why the operator — not usually the player — bears the gaming levy, and flags the real risks around offshore winnings. Educational, not tax advice.
Live (In-Play) Betting Explained: The Product the World Cup Is Built to Sell
In-play betting lets you wager during a match, with odds that move every few seconds. It's the fastest-growing sports-betting product and the one the World Cup drives hardest — and its speed is exactly what makes it riskier for your discipline. A plain explainer of how live betting works, why the odds shift, and why the format is engineered to keep you betting.
How to Bet on the 2026 FIFA World Cup Legally in the Philippines: A PAGCOR-Licensed Sportsbook Guide
The 2026 World Cup runs June 11 to July 19. This is not a tips page. It is a guide to which sportsbooks are legally allowed to take your World Cup bet in the Philippines, how to verify a PIGO license, what the law actually says, and how the regulated market differs from the offshore sites that will flood your feed during the tournament.