The POGO Ban Explained: EO 74, RA 12312 and What It Means for Local Online Gaming

We at CasinoHub checked this guide against the linked primary documents on 13 November 2026. Independent information, not legal advice.

“POGO” stands for Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator: a company in the Philippines offering online gambling to players outside the country. Between November 2024 and October 2025, the Philippines first suspended and then permanently outlawed offshore gaming. Here is what changed, in order, and what PAGCOR’s documents say about the online gaming PAGCOR still regulates for players in the Philippines.

Timeline

Date	What happened	Source
5 Nov 2024	Executive Order No. 74 orders an immediate ban on POGO, internet gaming and other offshore gaming operations. No new licences or renewals. Licensed offshore operations to cease by 31 December 2024 or earlier.	EO 74, Supreme Court E-Library
20 Nov 2024	PAGCOR memorandum on the coverage of EO 74 explains that locally regulated electronic gaming is not part of the ban.	PAGCOR memorandum
15 Dec 2024	PAGCOR: all Internet Gaming Licensees and Authorized Providers cancelled.	PAGCOR notice
23 Oct 2025	RA 12312 (the Anti-POGO Act), approved. Its repeal clause removes the former POGO tax statute, RA 11590 (2021).	RA 12312, Supreme Court E-Library
29 Oct 2025	RA 12312 published. Under Sec. 20 it takes effect 15 days after publication.	Publication record on the Supreme Court’s E-Library

What RA 12312 bans

The Anti-POGO Act defines offshore gaming as offering or taking part in online games of chance or sporting events, over the internet, using a network and software operating in the Philippines (including special economic, freeport and tourism zones), catered to offshore players.

Once the law took effect, it became unlawful to conduct or offer offshore gaming. The prohibited acts include:

• setting up, running or conducting offshore gaming in the Philippines;
• accepting any form of bet for offshore gaming;
• acting as a POGO gaming content provider or POGO service provider;
• creating or running a POGO hub or site;
• bringing in, using or possessing POGO gaming equipment or paraphernalia; and
• aiding or abetting these acts. Examples include registering front companies, supplying fake IDs or permits, leasing premises or digital platforms for prohibited activity, and facilitating illegal entry or exit.

Section 5 permanently revokes POGO-related licences issued by PAGCOR, special economic zone authorities, TIEZA, freeport authorities and other agencies. Section 13 sets criminal penalties that rise with repeat offences:

• First offence: 6 to 8 years’ imprisonment and a fine of at least PHP 15 million.
• Second offence: 8 years and 1 day to 10 years, and PHP 15–30 million.
• Third offence: 10 years and 1 day to 12 years, and PHP 30–50 million.

For companies, the penalties fall on responsible officers. Public officials receive the maximum penalty. The Act also provides that a convicted foreign officer is to be deported once the sentence has been served.

What about online casinos for players in the Philippines?

The law’s definition targets gaming catered to offshore players. Neither RA 12312 nor EO 74 sets up rules for locally licensed online gaming, and PAGCOR has addressed that question separately:

• In its 20 November 2024 memorandum, PAGCOR said EO 74 covers games offered directly to foreign players located outside the Philippines. It said the electronic gaming supervised by its Electronic Gaming Licensing Department, whether played on-premise or online, is offered within Philippine jurisdiction and so is not among the offshore activities the order bans.
• PAGCOR’s current rules for online platforms (October 2025) require that an accredited administrator’s system not register players or accept bets from outside the Philippines.

PAGCOR’s position is that the ban covers offshore gaming, while PAGCOR continues to license and regulate local online gaming under its own rules. That does not make every Philippine-facing gambling site legal. Check the particular brand and domain against PAGCOR’s published records; appearance on a dated list is not a live legal opinion. See how to check a PAGCOR licence.

Red flag: “PAGCOR offshore licence”

PAGCOR’s public notice is direct. Since all internet gaming licences were cancelled, any company or website claiming to hold a valid PAGCOR offshore or internet gaming licence is “fraudulent and unauthorized.” (notice).

If a site shows such a licence or certificate, do not deposit. PAGCOR has also warned about counterfeit PAGCOR certificates.

For the wider legal map (the PAGCOR Charter, anti-money-laundering rules and other laws), see our Philippine gambling laws page.