Editing Online Gambling (section)

===Providers of Online Gambling in the Philippines===

:In the Philippine government, there exist two appointed working bodies functioning as regulators on matters concerning the gambling industry in the country that is including the growing industry of online gambling. The government’s gambling arm is the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO). The PCSO is a fund-generating organization which is responsible for holding and conducting charity sweepstakes and lottery games which are used to finance health and welfare related investments. Since the world of gambling is revolutionized with the growth of ICTs, PCSO expanded its market to the online community by appointing Pacific Online Systems Corporation as its exclusive online lottery system provider.

:On the other hand, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) functions as a regulator of the operation of gaming casinos. It was established in the year 1976 to help curb illegal gambling. The establishment of PAGCOR supported the industry of gambling in the Philippines proving that legalized gambling is a potential tool in uplifting the country’s economic status. Then again, to meet the challenges of the times, the gaming corporation is constantly searching for ways to broaden its reach. Therefore, in 2000, the Sports and Games Entertainment Corporation was appointed as the exclusive operator of the Philippines’ only online casino. This was www.sagecasino.com. In 2001, however, this was shut down by President Erap Estrada but the shutdown was inhibited by the president’s impeachment. In 2002, the government granted Philweb Corporation control over online casinos. Philweb is now in collaboration with PAGCOR for the regulation and taxing of online gaming sites based in the Philippines.

:Philweb successfully signed a contract with PAGCOR to be its principal service provider for Internet Gaming Technology. To date, they have agreed on four terms, which include: (1) Intellectual Property License Agreement (IPLMA) for Internet Sports Betting, (2) IPLMA for PAGCOR e-Games Cafes, (3) IPLMA for Premyo sa Resibo Mobile Games, and (4) IPLMA for TXTINGO mobile game.  These contracts legalized the operations of online gambling in the Philippines and also promised to update these technologies as the times improve.