Gambling in the Philippines was current since the nineteenth century,[1] and is still widespread in the country today. Presently, it takes on various legal and illegal forms found almost all over the archipelago. The government handles gambling through the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) which aims to regulate and operate games of chance, and to create government funds,[2] but there are also other public and private agencies that handles specific kinds of gambling. In particular, casino gambling under PAGCOR is essential to the nation’s tourism and earnings. The Philippines has more casinos than Macau, with twenty found in Metro Manila alone.
Before the Spanish colonization.,[1] gaming is said to have already been within the Philippines. Even though there are no specific records when gambling was initially practiced in the archipelago, it’s likely that some forms were introduced by the Chinese in the late nineteenth century. Due to the proximity of both nations, many local Chinese would go to the Philippines for both business and gain, engaging in various transactions and activities. [4][5] On Magellan’s voyage into the Philippines, it had been mentioned in the accounts of Antonio Pigafetta, he had witnessed bets being put on cockfights if his boat came at Palawan at 1521.

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