Content:
- What is PAGCOR?
- Is online gambling legal in the Philippines?
- How to choose a safe casino online
- To conclude
PAGCOR regulates all forms of online gambling in the Philippines, so if you gamble at a casino approved by PAGCOR, you can trust the operator. In this post, we’ll recommend only licensed and safe casino sites in the Philippines. Don’t forget to check the full reviews and choose your best casino online.
What is PAGCOR?
The full name behind the abbreviation is the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation. It’s the main regulator of the gambling market in the country. It was founded in 1976. Since that time, it’s been controlling all real money gaming and betting activities in the Philippines.
Even though PAGCOR is the most trusted regulator, casino hotels and resorts are licensed by a different regulatory body because it’s a tourist place. Locals aren’t allowed to play at such places.
Is online gambling legal in the Philippines?
Because there’s a regulatory body, online gambling is legal and properly regulated the way it is necessary for the government. In contrast to other countries, PAGCOR in the Philippines can license casino operators working on the territory of the country.
When it comes to playing on international casino websites, the government cannot regulate it. But players aren’t prohibited from gambling on websites licensed by offshore regulators. So Filipino players can legally play and win money on offshore platforms.
How to choose a safe casino online
The most important thing players must be sure about is choosing a safe and legal online casino. There are a lot of scam websites, mobile apps, and Facebook scams that offer unlicensed gambling. You can’t fully trust these online casinos and gaming apps because their fairness is not proven by the jurisdiction.
This is why you mustn’t pick the first online casino in the Philippines you find on the internet. The only legitimate way to play and trust a casino is to check it for signs of fairness. Our casino reviews will help you with that. In all Filipino online casino reviews, we mention the company that owns the casino and where it’s registered. We mention if the casino is licensed and which safety measures it uses. So when choosing a safe casino online, you can trust our reviews and recommendations.
Nevertheless, you can always check a casino on your own, using the following rules.
Valid license
Your online casino must be licensed. Simply put, this document proves that your chosen website has met all the standards imposed by the regulatory body. These may include security measures, privacy and confidentiality policies, anti-money laundering measures, responsible gaming tools, etc.
Each regulatory body has its own standards. And the license is issued only to those gambling operators who meet all of them. The license is given for a definite period, which means every time the period ends, operators must prove their fairness again to update the validation. Usually, an online casino can have a license for 4 years straight, but it varies depending on the regulations.
If during this period an online casino is caught violating the regulations and standards, it gets revoked the license and fined.
You should look out for the license and its validity at an online casino. At the bottom of a casino site, the fine print always states the owner of the casino and the license number. Besides, there’s a license icon you can click on and get to the official webpage. There, you should match the company name and license number as well as its validity.
Security tools
Now if the casino is licensed, you can already trust it. Nevertheless, there’s something more to check — the security measures employed on the website. Usually, online casinos mention this information in the terms and conditions and privacy policy.
In most cases, you’ll find that a casino uses SSL encryption. It’s one of the most widespread methods to protect files in the database. All banking institutions use this method.
Thanks to the encryption security protocol, all the data you send to the casino, including your personal and financial information is encrypted, which makes it impossible for fraudsters to get it.
Your Filipino online casino may use other different methods for security and additional safety of your account. For example, you can be proposed to enable two-factor authentication, which means no one will access your casino account without the confirmation code delivered to your phone.
Responsible gaming
One of the signs of a trustworthy casino is the list of responsible gaming tools it offers for players. All gambling regulators allow players to gamble and casinos provide their services under the condition that everyone will be safe as well as their budget. In other words, players must have an opportunity to prevent themselves from problem gambling. And online casinos must see and warn players about the signs of such problems.
A good and safe casino platform must relocate information regarding gambling problems. It may include:
- signs of gambling addiction
- online and offline sources where players can seek help and support
- steps that can help prevent gambling addiction
- helpful tools such as self-exclusion, deposit limits, loss limits, betting limits, etc
Certified games
Finally, you can make sure your online casino is safe to play by checking games. First, check out the providers of gaming content. If you’re a regular player, you know the names of the best software providers such as Pragmatic Play, Microgaming, NetEnt, Playtech, and others. These developers have licenses and certificates to create and release real money games via gaming platforms.
But this isn’t the only thing to look out for. Your online casino should also share information about the fairness of games. It can be a certificate from a testing agency or a technology used by the casino. For example, crypto-friendly online casinos in the Philippines use the Provably Fair technology that allows players to check each game result for fairness right on the casino website.
To conclude
Filipino players have a wide choice of online casinos. Many of them are regulated and licensed, which means you can trust them. They can be licensed by the local regulatory body PAGCOR or offshore authorities if a casino is registered overseas. Make sure to play at a safe casino online because the safety of your funds and personal data depends on the choice you make.
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