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“Licensed by PAGCOR”? Why that claim fails after the Philippines’ offshore gaming ban

By Eagle Ridge editorial team · Sources checked · 3 min read

PAGCOR, the Philippine gaming regulator, cancelled every licence for offshore and internet gaming aimed at foreign players with effect from 15 December 2024. It now says any site “claiming to hold a valid offshore gaming/internet gaming license from PAGCOR is fraudulent and unauthorized”[1]. A 2025 law made the ban permanent[2]. So a “PAGCOR licence” on a casino site sold to Malaysians in 2026 cannot be a licence to serve Malaysian players. PAGCOR’s own list of websites it has reported includes Maxim88 and Mega888[3].

The ban, step by step

  • 22 July 2024. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr announced a ban on offshore gaming in his State of the Nation Address[4].
  • 5 November 2024. Executive Order No. 74 banned Philippine offshore gaming operators and internet gaming licensees, the licences that served “offshore-based/foreign players”. It stopped new licences and renewals and ordered all such operations to “completely cease operations … on 31 December 2024 or earlier”[4].
  • 15 December 2024. PAGCOR cancelled all internet gaming licences and authorised providers[1][5].
  • 23 October 2025. The Anti-POGO Act of 2025 declared offshore gaming illegal, cancelled the remaining licences “permanently” and removed PAGCOR’s power to issue them again[2].

What PAGCOR still licenses

PAGCOR still licenses gambling inside the Philippines, including online games offered as an adjunct to licensed venues for their registered players[6]. Its charter covers gambling “within the territorial jurisdiction” of the Philippines[4]. It publishes lists of accredited platform operators and their registered brands and domains. Those are the lists to check any PAGCOR claim against. None of the brands in our checks that claimed PAGCOR approval appears on them[6].

A Malaysian player is outside that scope. No PAGCOR licence that exists in 2026 authorises a site to take bets from Malaysia.

PAGCOR’s own warnings

In October 2024 PAGCOR warned that “certain websites are using the PAGCOR logo without permission”, and named three websites that generate counterfeit PAGCOR certificates. It published a list of reported websites that includes “maxim88”, “maxim88malaysia.com” and “mega888 / mdn88”, along with several domains ending in “my”[3]. A separate notice warned about entities on Facebook, X, Telegram and Viber using fake certificates.

In our checks, Maxim88’s landing page still claimed to be “fully licensed and regulated by PAGCOR”[7]. Our Maxim88 licence check sets out the rest of its claims. me88’s About Us page also claimed PAGCOR recognition that PAGCOR’s lists do not show[8][6].

The Malaysian angle

The ban followed years of abuses linked to offshore gaming hubs, some involving Malaysians. In June 2023 Malaysia’s Foreign Ministry identified 127 Malaysians among 134 people rescued in a Philippine raid on an offshore gaming operator, where they had been subjected to forced labour and unlawful imprisonment[9].

For a reader in Malaysia the practical point is simpler. A site that shows a PAGCOR logo is showing either an out-of-date claim or a fake one. And no foreign licence makes online casino play lawful here[10]. Our guide to checking a casino licence against the register covers what a real claim looks like.

Questions readers ask

Can a PAGCOR licence cover Malaysian players?

No. PAGCOR cancelled all licences for offshore and internet gaming aimed at foreign players with effect from 15 December 2024, and a 2025 law removed its power to issue them again. What it still licenses is gambling inside the Philippines.

What was Executive Order 74?

An order signed on 5 November 2024 that banned Philippine offshore gaming operators and internet gaming licensees and required them to stop operating by 31 December 2024.

Is Maxim88 licensed by PAGCOR?

We found no PAGCOR licence for Maxim88, and PAGCOR’s October 2024 list of reported websites includes “maxim88” and “maxim88malaysia.com”.

How do I check a PAGCOR claim?

Search PAGCOR’s published lists of accredited platform operators and their registered brands and domains. If the brand or domain is not there, the claim is not supported.

Sources

Every source below was read on the date shown. Operator pages are named but not linked: this site does not link to gambling operators.

  1. Remote operations and ancillary services: notice on cancelled internet gaming licences. Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR). Read on 29 Oct 2026.
  2. Republic Act No. 12312, Anti-POGO Act of 2025 (23 October 2025). Lawphil Project, Arellano Law Foundation. Read on 29 Oct 2026.
  3. Notice to the public: list of reported websites (October 2024), PDF. Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR). Read on 29 Oct 2026.
  4. Executive Order No. 74, 5 November 2024 (full text). Lawphil Project, Arellano Law Foundation. Read on 29 Oct 2026.
  5. POGO licenses revoked by 15 December: PAGCOR (11 December 2024). Daily Tribune. Read on 29 Oct 2026.
  6. Electronic Gaming: lists of licensees, registered brands and domain names. Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR). Read on 28 Oct 2026.
  7. Maxim88 Malaysia site: homepage text, footer as displayed, region landing page, sponsorship page, settings and language files (operator page: we do not link to or print operator addresses). Maxim88 (operating company not named). Read on 28 Oct 2026.
  8. me88 Malaysia site: footer, About Us page and public settings file (operator page: we do not link to or print operator addresses). S Tier Solutions Ltd (me88). Read on 28 Oct 2026.
  9. 127 Malaysians identified among syndicate victims rescued in Philippines: Wisma Putra (30 June 2023). The Vibes. Read on 29 Oct 2026.
  10. Common Gaming Houses Act 1953 (Act 289), official reprint incorporating amendments up to 1 January 2006. Attorney General’s Chambers of Malaysia, Laws of Malaysia. Read on 28 Oct 2026.