Philippines Expands Casino Ban List to Cover DOJ Personnel
MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines Department of Justice has signed an agreement with PAGCOR to add DOJ personnel to the country’s list of people barred from entering casinos.
LISTEN TO THIS ARTICLE:The move widens enforcement pressure on public-sector gambling restrictions and could sharply increase the number of government workers screened at casino doors.
According to the state-run Philippine News Agency, the memorandum of agreement covers the DOJ’s roughly 60,000 employees across its main offices and attached agencies. Those include the National Bureau of Investigation, Bureau of Corrections, Office of the Solicitor General, Office of the Government Counsel, Public Attorney’s Office, Parole and Probation Administration, and Land Registration Authority.
PAGCOR chairman and chief executive Alejandro Tengco said only about 600,000 names are currently on the regulator’s restricted list, despite there being around 4.5 million government officials and employees in the country. He said the DOJ deal is the first agreement of its kind signed between PAGCOR and a government agency, marking a new step in how access controls are enforced.
Related: PAGCOR Voids Casino Winnings from Government Officials
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PAGCOR and DOJ Push Stronger Enforcement
Government officials and employees are already prohibited from gambling under Presidential Decree 1869. The new arrangement is designed to make that ban easier to enforce by allowing PAGCOR to identify covered personnel more accurately and block entry more effectively.
Justice Secretary Fredderick Vida said the presence of public officials in gaming venues undermines the ethical standards expected of state employees. He said the data-sharing initiative is needed to make enforcement more meaningful, rather than leaving the rule as a formal restriction that is unevenly applied.
Tengco also said PAGCOR has voided Php310 million in winnings from players found to be on the restricted list. That figure gives the agreement broader weight for operators as well, because it underlines that enforcement is not limited to access denial and can carry direct financial consequences when banned individuals are discovered gambling.
What Happens Next
The immediate question is whether other agencies follow the DOJ and strike similar agreements with PAGCOR. If that happens, the regulator’s restricted list could expand quickly and change the way casinos handle identity checks for public employees.
For the market, the agreement points to tighter compliance expectations around access control and responsible enforcement. For the government, it is also a test of whether a rule that has long existed on paper can now be applied more consistently in practice.
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