Official languages: Filipino, English
Population: 90,500,000
Currency: Philippine Peso (PHP)

Current Exchange Rate
1 EUR = 68.5504 PHP
1 GBP = 73.2226 PHP
1 USD = 46.3053 PHP

Casinos in Philippines
The first casino in Philippines was actually a floating casino in Manila Bay. It was run by the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR). The casino boat opened in 1977, but two years later it burned down. PAGCOR then moved on to making land-based casinos, and in 1983 they were granted a monopoly over nearly all forms of gambling in the country. Today PAGCOR runs about 20 large-scale casinos, plus 8 VIP Clubs and several slot machine arcades.

There are casinos in the Philippines not run by PAGCOR. These are found in the Cagayan Special Economic Zone and Freeport on the northeastern tip of the country. Special rules apply there. Casinos have been allowed there since 1995, but only foreigners can play at them. While there are only two large casinos today, the main town of Port Irene is home to more than 500 small gambling halls filled with electronic games. The area caters to tourists from Taiwan, Hong Kong, and other nearby regions.

Online Casinos in Philippines
Both PAGCOR and the Cagayan Freeport offer online casinos in the Philippines, but just like with land-based casinos, PAGCOR internet casinos are only for Filippinos, and Cagayan Freeport online casinos are only for foreigners. There are over 40 major international online casinos registered out of the Cagayan Freeport today, and more licenses are granted every year.

Filipino players have access to PAGCOR's online gambling website. They offer a complete online casino with more than 120 games, including a few varieties of poker and many slots games. For more variety, Filipino players need play online casino games at foreign internet casinos. The government does not like this since it means less money for their gambling monopoly, but there is little they can do about it because they have no jurisdiction in countries where foreign casinos are hosted.