E-Wallets and Online Casinos: The BSP Delinking Order and PAGCOR’s Payment Rules

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

Until August 2025, many Filipino players reached online casinos directly through icons inside their e-wallet apps. That ended with a central-bank order. Here is what the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and PAGCOR have published, and what has not been finalised.

August 2025: BSP removes in-app gambling access

BSP Memorandum No. M-2025-029, addressed to all BSP-supervised institutions, says:

• On 14 August 2025, the Monetary Board (Resolution No. 805) approved suspending in-app gambling access in the mobile payment apps and websites of BSP-supervised institutions, such as banks and e-money issuers.
• The reasons given were the surge in online gambling transactions and public concern about its effect on consumers’ financial health.
• Institutions had to remove such links within 48 hours of the memorandum.
• “In-app gambling access” covers any product or service that redirects an account holder to a gaming or gambling site.
• The suspension applies pending a BSP policy setting standards for online gambling payment services.

(BSP M-2025-029)

PAGCOR later described this period as the “mandatory de-linking of e-wallets from online gaming platforms.” PAGCOR linked the softer August and September 2025 results to that change and discussed it as a player-protection measure (PAGCOR, 27 Nov 2025; PAGCOR, 11 Nov 2025).

Is there a final BSP rule yet?

We could not confirm one. The BSP has published an exposure draft, Regulations on Online Gambling Payment Services. It proposes, among other things, that payment providers obtain prior BSP authority, offer a separate “Online Gambling Transaction Account” with enhanced KYC and facial-biometric checks, and apply transaction limits (BSP exposure draft).

An exposure draft is a consultation document, not a rule in force. We are describing that document as a draft, not asserting that no later circular exists. Do not rely on draft account types or proposed limits without checking the BSP’s current issuances.

What payment methods PAGCOR allows

PAGCOR’s Regulatory Framework for the Accreditation of Gaming System Administrators (effective 2 October 2025) sets these rules for PAGCOR-regulated online platforms:

• Allowed channels: only AMLC-compliant channels, such as over-the-counter and online banking, payment or e-wallet systems, and other legitimate money-transfer services. Only services accredited, approved or registered with the BSP count as legitimate.
• Integrated payment options are allowed, but payment gateways may handle only deposits and withdrawals. They may not register players; account registration must happen on the gaming platform itself.
• No credit cards and no cryptocurrency for funding or withdrawals through payment gateways. PAGCOR’s chairman said in December 2025 that the credit-card and crypto ban reflects “the risks of over-borrowing and impulsive behavior” (PAGCOR, 10 Dec 2025).
• Your own accounts only. Funding or withdrawing to any account other than the player’s registered account is prohibited.
• No “pasaload.” Players may not share or pass funds to each other.

For how QR Ph, InstaPay, PESONet and e-wallet cash-ins work at the cashier, see our payments guide.

Practical tips

• Pay only through the casino’s own cashier page, reached from a domain you have checked against PAGCOR’s lists. Do not send money to a person’s e-wallet number, an “agent” or a QR code from a chat group.
• A site that takes crypto or credit cards for deposits is not following the payment rules PAGCOR sets for its online platforms.
• Withdrawals go back to your registered account. If a site asks for a “release fee” or a deposit to “unlock” a withdrawal, stop and report it. For scams, the CICC hotline is 1326, as reported by GMA News. Also contact your bank or e-wallet.
• Complete KYC early. PAGCOR’s framework requires full verification before your first withdrawal or within three days of sign-up. See PAGCOR’s rules for online casinos.