President Ferdinand Marcos signed Presidential Decree Number 1602 into law on June 11^th, 1978. This Decree introduced harsher penalties on individuals and hosts of illegal gambling activities. PD No. 1602 was created out of the need for increased penalties against illegal gaming violations.

Stiffer penalties were believed to be the key to effectively combating illegal gaming activities such as illegal number games and so on. The Philippine government justified the Decree as a law to assist in removing such a social menace that consistently drained the energy and resources of the people. This Decree simplified and clarified violation penalties to be imposed on any person taking part in any form of illegal gambling.

Presidential Decree No. 1602 aided in improving Philippine gambling laws which counteracted illicit games, however, penalties against such were so easily circumvent-able in the past due to the application of a confusing and outdated system of reprimands.

Such penalties held no real authority, therefore, through the creation of Presidential Decree No. 1602 penalties were effectively brought into the modern age to meet current needs, norms, and customs as well as outlined specific games affected by the penalty.

How Does PD No. 1602 Affect Casino Gambling in the Philippines?

Presidential Decree 1602 does not affect lawfully licensed domestic casino gambling but rather targets any and all illicit gaming within the Philippines. This Decree amended criminal provisions such as Articles 195-199 of the Revised Penal Code of the Philippines, Republic Act 3063, PD 483, PD 449, PD 510, and PD 1306 and thus made penalties effective and responsive to the need to curb illegal gaming. Therefore, this Decree promoted legal gambling within casinos, clubs, and turf clubs which assisted in the shift of attitude from illicit underground games to authorized avenues.

Passed during the Fourteenth Congress of the Republic of the Philippines, the law addresses the calls of different stakeholders to tighten the rules and policies on illegal number game, particularly Jueteng. Before the passage of the Act, the gambling laws in the country is described as ‘friendly and loose’. Also, the gambling laws in the Philippines are focused on operators and companies and not individuals. In case certain issues or problems crop up related to these games and the poor understanding of illegal gambling law in the Philippines, the burden is on the operator and not the player.

The Effect of PD No. 1067-A on Philippine Online Casino Gambling

PD 1602 did not affect online casino gambling due to the fact that the world wide web and its online casino's functions were not yet popularized or even created. Therefore, no language within Presidential Decree 1602 directly addressed online gambling in any way.

Although, some critics could claim that the Decree includes the term “vessel”, which could mean the internet, as a punishable offense if the means of such vessel were used to participate in any of the stated forms of illegal games. Nonetheless, this has never been tried against persons in any case of online gaming.

However, legally licensed online operators that are located offshore can offer their games to Philippine players without restriction. Therefore, gambling on online sportsbooks for Philippine players remain safe so long as they are based offshore.

Outcome Of Presidential Decree 1602

The urgent need to update gambling laws brought on the creation of PD 1602 as a means to simply clarify the understanding of violations and explicitly prescribe harsher penalties for those violations. Harsher penalties were needed to curb illegal activities as previous penalties were inadequate and did not effectively discourage illegal gaming. Therefore, after the standardization of penalties became clear and enforceable illicit gambling activities began their downturn.

Types of Illegal Gambling in The Philippines

Various games turn from legal to illegal when the wagers no longer transpire between players and a legally licensed and regulated operator but rather when bets become a peer-to-peer game where the “house” takes a rake of the profit which thus makes it illegal. The following games are deemed illegal in the peer to peer betting environment :

1. Cockfighting
2. Jai alai game-fixing
3. Numbers games
4. Bingo
5. Other forms of lotteries
6. Cara y cruz
7. Pompiang
8. 7-11 and any game using dice
9. Blackjack
10. Lucky nine
11. Poker and its derivatives
12. Monte
13. Baccarat
14. Cuajao
15. Panguingue and other card games
16. Paik que
17. High and low
18. Domino and other games using plastic tiles and the likes
19. Slot machines
20. Roulette
21. Pinball and other mechanical contraptions and devices
22. Dog racing
23. Boat racing
24. Car racing and other forms of races
25. Basketball
26. Boxing
27. Volleyball
28. Bowling
29. Pingpong and other forms of individual or team contests to include game fixing, point-shaving, and other machinations
30. Banking or percentage game, or any other game scheme, whether upon chance or skill, wherein wagers consisting of money, articles of value or representative of value are at stake or made

Importance of Participating on Legitimately Licensed Gambling Entertainment

It is important to be sure that the gambling entertainment individuals choose to engage in is a legitimately licensed and regulated operator. This is due to compliance requirements with regulatory agencies and their standards, all of which allow players to gamble in a safe environment without worry or fear.

However, players and persons knowingly participating in unregulated underground games and/or allowing any form of illicit gaming to be held within a place, vehicle, building owned or managed by them are subject to arrest, punishment of fines up to six thousand pesos, and potential prison time.

Therefore, there is no reason to risk gambling on illegal formats of gaming. Instead, we encourage players to bet legally on Philippine online casinos to enjoy a wide array of games and bonuses.

The Philippines is an interesting market for online gambling.
The country is divided into two distinct regions for gambling
purposes. First, there’s the majority of the country in which
gambling is tightly controlled by the state-owned Philippine
Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR). PAGCOR operates all
land-based casinos, and betting outlets across the country.

Locals are welcome to play at approved PAGCOR locations and
online for some forms of gambling. Filipinos can also visit any
of the numerous PAGCOR betting terminals across the country and
are free to gamble online at offshore websites.

The laws for online gaming in the Philippines are a bit odd.
In both regions of the Philippines, it’s illegal for any
independent operator to offer online betting to locals. However,
offshore providers with no connection to the Philippines may
offer their services to the Philippines.

What Is The Penalty For Illegal Gambling

In short, there are two different sets of laws (or lack of
laws) in play here. Citizens of the Philippines are not subject
to any laws that ban online gambling. There was considerable
debate on the legality of placing bets over the internet, but a
court ruling in 2012 found that there was no piece of language
in Philippine law that made it an offense to place bets. So,
citizens are free to play wherever they want.

Operators must play by a whole different set of rules. Any
online gambling site licensed in the Philippines is restricted
from offering its services to Filipinos. This has created a
situation in which PAGCOR has a monopoly on land-based gambling
but is cut off from its own market online.

Cagayan Freeport and Online Gambling License

The second “region” is the Cagayan Special Economic Zone and
Freeport which most people just call “Cagayan Freeport.” This is
the only area in the Philippines not under complete control of
the PAGCOR monopoly. In the Freeport area, there are numerous
independent casinos that are allowed to offer their services to
tourists only.

Cagayan Freeport also acts as an online gambling licensing
jurisdiction. In fact, it’s the only such jurisdiction in all of
Asia. A Filipino gambling license is hard to get and does not
allow operators to accept wagers from Philippine citizens, but it’s valuable nonetheless. A license there grants access to the
greater Asian area, which is a booming and untapped market.

PAGCOR issues the licenses and monitors all existing
licensees for compliance. Any limited company interested in
getting a license can apply for one. The application itself
costs $40,000 and then there’s a $48,000 fee for the first year
once approved. Licenses are renewed each year after that for
$60,000 per year.

Why Is Online Gambling Illegal

License holders can offer their services to anyone outside
the Philippines and may take advantage of the country’s highly
developed internet infrastructure. The close proximity of the
Philippines to the rest of Asia and its high level of
development make it an attractive base of operations for any
company interested in tapping the Asian market.

All game systems must be tested and approved, and the company
must keep an adequate amount of cash on hand to cover all player
balances. The licensing commission is strict on these rules, and
it does a good job of enforcing the regulations.

If you are interested in more information about the licensing
situation in the Philippines or the different regulations set in
place you can always check out the website for the Philippine
Amusement and Gaming Corporation. Also, if you want a direct
answer on a specific question you can contact them through phone
or email. All of this information can be found below:

What Is Illegal Gambling In The Philippines