Gambling addiction help in the Philippines

Verified helplines

Helplines and online chat

The National Problem Gambling Helpline answers on (02) 8248-9568, 24 hours a day and confidentially, in Filipino and English. It was launched in May 2026 by PAGCOR with the Seagulls Flock Organization, and is staffed by trained para-counsellors and mental health professionals who provide psychological first aid and referrals. The same number is the contact point on PAGCOR's own responsible gaming page.

For a mental health crisis rather than a gambling question, the Department of Health's National Center for Mental Health runs a crisis hotline on 1553 nationwide, or 1800-1888-1553. Numbers for other countries are in the helplines directory.

Self-exclusion

PAGCOR runs the exclusion system, and a ban applies across every gaming facility PAGCOR operates or regulates regardless of where you filed it. Excluded names are entered in PAGCOR's National Database of Restricted Persons, and people on that list are among those not allowed to enter, stay or play at all.

For self-exclusion you need a completed RG Form 2, a photocopy of one government-issued photo ID, and 2x2 photographs taken within the previous six months; if you are not submitting in person, PAGCOR confirms identity by selfie or video call. Applications go by email or into the drop box at PAGCOR's corporate office in Pasay City, forms are also available at PAGCOR-operated and regulated gaming sites, and PAGCOR operates an online self-exclusion portal at osea.pagcor.ph. Family exclusion needs proof of the relationship — a birth certificate or marriage certificate — plus ID for both people.

How other countries structure this is set out in self-exclusion by country.

Blocking gambling payments and sites

The strongest money control in the Philippines was imposed on the payment side rather than offered as a customer setting. In August 2025 the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas issued Memorandum No. M-2025-029, instructing all BSP-supervised institutions to remove in-app gambling access — any product or service that redirects an account holder to a gambling site — from their mobile payment apps and websites within 48 hours, pending a permanent policy on online gambling payment services.

That removed the one-tap route from e-wallets to gambling sites, but it is not a personal block: it does not stop a transfer you initiate yourself, and it does not reach unlicensed sites. Philippine banks do not publish an individual gambling-transaction block on cards. Device-level blocking is compared in blocking apps for iOS and Android, and if borrowing has already started, see what to do about gambling debt.

Free treatment and counselling

The Philippines has no publicly funded gambling treatment programme. The free routes are the national helpline, which gives psychological first aid and referrals, and Gamblers Anonymous Philippines, which runs peer meetings and can be reached on 0915 938 2808.

Beyond that, PAGCOR lists accredited help centres, which are private rehabilitation providers: Bridges of Hope Drugs and Alcohol Rehabilitation Foundation (with branches nationwide), Life Change Recovery Center in Quezon City, and Milestone Health and Wellness Center in Baguio City. PAGCOR also publishes accreditation rules for problem gambling treatment and rehabilitation centres, so the list changes; check the current one on its responsible gaming page before committing money to a programme. If you want to check where your own gambling sits first, the self-test takes a few minutes.

Support for family and friends

A family member has a real lever here. A spouse, a parent, or a child aged 18 or over can file a family exclusion against a relative, for 6 months, 1 year or 3 years, and it is enforced across all PAGCOR-operated and regulated sites without the relative's agreement. You will need a photocopy of the relative's government ID, your own ID, two 2x2 photographs of the relative, and a birth or marriage certificate proving the relationship.

PAGCOR also lists Gam-Anon Philippines, the family counterpart to Gamblers Anonymous. For the conversation itself, see how to help someone with a gambling problem and the signs of gambling addiction.

Gambling law and the regulator

The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation both regulates gambling and operates its own Casino Filipino venues, which is unusual — the regulator is also a licensee's competitor. Licensed land-based casinos and licensed electronic gaming sites operate under PAGCOR licences.

Offshore gambling is banned outright. Republic Act 12312, the Anti-POGO Act of 2025, approved on 23 October 2025, declares offshore gaming operations illegal, revokes existing offshore licences and sets penalties starting at six to eight years' imprisonment and a ₱15 million fine for a first offence. It targets operations serving players outside the country and does not change the position of PAGCOR-licensed domestic gaming.

The minimum age is 21. Under the PAGCOR charter and its implementing rules, people under 21, anyone on the National Database of Restricted Persons, members of the Armed Forces and the Philippine National Police, gaming employment licence holders, and government officials connected with gaming operations are not allowed to enter, stay or play.