Staff training on AML, KYC and AI key to next phase of Philippine online gaming growth: industry advisor

Online gaming operators in the Philippines must direct investment in workforce training into “three critical pillars”, says Ellen Joy Almanza, managing consultant at Buenas PH, an online casino licensed by the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp (Pagcor). They are, she said, “embedding volume-scale anti-money laundering [AML] and know-your-customer [KYC] compliance into operational roles, scaling predictive AI [artificial intelligence] and data science to detect problematic gaming behaviours before they occur, and recruiting platform architects who can support novel digital formats like e-sports”. The “next five years” in the sector will be “defined by scaling sophisticated, specialised capability” in those areas, she suggested. The electronic gaming segment accounted for circa 45.2 percent of aggregate gross gaming revenue (GGR) in the second quarter of 2026, according to Pagcor data issued last week. The segment encompasses e-bingo, e-games, bingo grantees, and onsite and off-site poker, as per Pagcor’s classification. “The industry’s growth signals a mature, structural evolution,” Ms Almanza said in a Monday statement issued by Buenas PH. “It proves that a compliance-first, highly regulated digital gaming landscape creates sustainable, high-value tech and corporate career paths, moving the sector far beyond legacy assumptions of an informal or localised labour market,” she added. The statement said the latest Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) data indicated that gambling and betting platforms had the highest wage premium within the arts, entertainment and recreation sector. According to the 2024 Annual Survey of Philippine Business and Industry, issued by the PSA this year, gaming employed over 38,000 individuals, and recorded an average annual compensation of PHP688,750 (US$11,200) per employee. That level of compensation was “significantly outpacing traditional creative, arts, and entertainment roles,” Buenas PH noted. The company said that online gaming was playing a role in the national effort to build “higher skilled jobs” in the digital economy, such as in “IT, cybersecurity, compliance, data analytics, finance, and customer support”. Pagcor in particular was seeking to “build a sustainable gaming environment that generates quality jobs, attracts investments, contributes to nation-building, and operates responsibly,” said the online casino provider. “To sustain the momentum, Buenas PH emphasises that the next phase of market maturity will require operators to transition from general digital operations toward specialised, front-line technical capabilities,” the company said. “As Pagcor moves toward operating purely as a regulatory body, licensed domestic operators must absorb primary responsibility for real-time risk management and user protection,” it added. The online casino provider stated: “Navigating the rapid digital transition will require operators to fortify mid-level management and supervisory structures to ensure compliance stability during periods of high growth.” In terms of the overall regulatory environment for online gaming in the Philippines, Buenas PH noted: “The decision by Pagcor to lower the GGR tax rate from 55 percent to 35 percent in 2024, followed by subsequent reductions to 30 percent for e-games, aligned local standards with global benchmarks, successfully drawing capital into regulated domestic channels.” “Additionally, the nationwide total ban on offshore-facing Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) removed significant market distortion, effectively redirecting investment into compliant, domestic digital operators,” said Buenas PH. Arden Consult, a Manila-based legal and advisory firm specialising in coverage of the gaming sector, said in a recent white paper that regulatory enhancements had made the Philippine online gaming industry more attractive to “serious suppliers”.