The Department of Justice and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR) have signed a memorandum of agreement to add all DOJ officials and employees to the list of people barred from casinos in the Philippines.
The agreement was signed on March 30 and covers around 60,000 personnel across the DOJ’s main offices and attached agencies, including 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 chair and CEO Alejandro Tengco said the DOJ was the first government agency to formalize such an arrangement with the regulator.
He said PAGCOR’s restricted list currently contains about 600,000 names, well below the roughly 4.5 million government officials and personnel covered by the ban under Presidential Decree No. 1869.
That law prohibits all government officials and employees from gambling in casinos. The issue drew renewed scrutiny in September 2025 during a Senate investigation into an alleged flood control scam, when lawmakers said Department of Public Works and Highways officials tied to anomalous projects had lost more than PHP950m ($15.6m) in casinos, with total transactions exceeding PHP1bn.
PAGCOR also said it had voided PHP310m in winnings after verification showed that restricted persons had been allowed to gamble at regulated gaming venues, including Casino Filipino properties.
Justice Secretary Fredderick Vida said the agreement was intended to support compliance and reinforce institutional standards within the department.
Vida said: “strengthen[s] enforcement mechanisms and ensure[s] that policies are not only written but meaningfully implemented.”
The arrangement centers on data sharing intended to improve identification of prohibited individuals before they are able to access gaming floors. It also gives PAGCOR an additional enforcement tool as it seeks closer coordination with public sector bodies covered by the casino gambling ban.
The agreement follows broader regulatory tightening by PAGCOR earlier this year. In February, the regulator told senators it was strengthening online gambling controls through tighter KYC checks, possible wider advertising restrictions and expanded responsible gaming measures.
Under Philippine law, all government officials and employees are already prohibited from gambling in casinos, with the new agreement aimed at improving enforcement through data sharing
