Suppliers to the Philippines’ gaming market are set to come under greater scrutiny from PAGCOR.
After setting out plans for a formal accreditation process for the B2B sector in April last year, a notice from the law firm Arden Consult has confirmed that the regulator has already begun scrutinising suppliers.
According to a LinkedIn post from the firm, PAGCOR directed operators in January to provide the regulator with a list of their B2B suppliers, which were then checked with PAGCOR’s records.
“PAGCOR is moving from policy implementation to active compliance verification,” said Arden.
“The practical consequence of this approach is that operators are now acting as frontline compliance filters. Even suppliers that are not directly subject to regulatory inquiry may encounter commercial disruption if their operator partners cannot demonstrate that all vendors in their ecosystem satisfy PAGCOR’s accreditation requirements.”
As part of the implementation of the accreditation process, PAGCOR reclassified entities supporting the iGaming industry from Gaming System Service Providers to Gaming System Administrators.
The deadline for B2B accreditation is 31 March. According to Arden, those working with unaccredited vendors will be instructed to discontinue the use of their providers, including through the use of cease and desist letters.
The Philippines’ iGaming market has faced intense scrutiny from lawmakers who have raised concerns over the prominence of gambling addiction among citizens.
In an effort to placate concerns, PAGCOR has committed to a raft of changes to strengthen regulation, including a TV and radio ad blackout during ‘primetime’ – between 5.30pm and 8.30pm.
In the latest hearing, PAGCOR’s Chair and Chief Executive Officer, Alejandro Tengco, told Senators that the body is exploring the possibility of a complete ban on gambling advertising.
He said: “Radio and TV stations are asking if they can still show the ads during dead slots, mainly for advertising revenue. But for us, if it’s possible to completely ban them, that’s what we want to enforce.”