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Philippines Player Exclusions Reach 6,691 in H1 2026

Philippines Player Exclusions Reach 6,691 in H1 2026

PAGCOR recorded 6,691 player exclusions in the Philippines in H1 2026. Its total for the same six months of 2025 was 587.

The regulator’s June 30 exclusion data shows that 6,574 cases this year were self-exclusions. Another 112 came from family members and five from licensees. So self-exclusion made up just over 98% of the H1 total.

The dataset resurfaced on September 21, when PAGCOR completed a Freedom of Information request covering player exclusions from 2020 through 2026. PAGCOR said the figures were provided by its Gaming Licensing and Development Department.

Self-Exclusion Accounts for Most of the Increase

The H1 2025 table contained 587 cases. In H1 2026:

  • Self-exclusions rose from 477 to 6,574, making the H1 2026 figure about 13.8 times the H1 2025 level;
  • Family-initiated cases rose from 92 to 112;
  • Licensee cases fell from 18 to five.

Overall exclusions increased from 587 to 6,691. By 15M’s calculation, that makes the H1 2026 figure about 11.4 times the year-earlier level.

There were 3,101 cases in the first quarter of 2026. PAGCOR recorded another 3,590 in Q2. The second-quarter count was therefore higher, but the much bigger change had already happened before the end of March.

H1 Total Is Already Above All of 2025

PAGCOR reported 2,689 exclusions for the whole of 2025 in its December year-end data. The first six months of 2026 alone were 4,002 cases above that figure.

Earlier quarterly numbers show the increase starting in late 2025. PAGCOR had 447 exclusions in Q3. The Q4 count was 1,655. It then reported 3,101 in Q1 2026 and 3,590 in Q2. Most of those recent cases were filed by the players themselves.

Data Does Not Show What Drove the Increase

The published data does not say how many exclusions relate to online gaming and how many came from land-based gambling. PAGCOR also gives no regional split in the June table.

That point is important because the regulator has been tightening responsible-gaming procedures around the same period. An April advisory told operators to check the National Database of Restricted Persons regularly and update their own records accordingly.

PAGCOR has not linked the increase to the April advisory. The published figures record the change, but give no reason for it.