PAGCOR is a 100 percent government-owned and controlled corporation under the Office of the President of the Republic of the Philippines.
The state-owned gaming firm was created during the Martial Law years by virtue of a Presidential Decree (PD) 1067-A issued by then President Ferdinand Marcos in response to calls for the Philippine government to put a stop to the growing proliferation of illegal casino operations in various parts of the country.
The law creating PAGCOR was later amended and consolidated under PD 1869 otherwise known as the PAGCOR Charter.
Under its Charter, PAGCOR was given a three-pronged mandate:
1. Regulate, operate, authorize and license games of chance, games of cards and games of numbers, particularly casino gaming in the Philippines;
2. Generate revenues for the Philippine government’s socio-civic and national development programs; and
3. Help promote the Philippine tourism industry.
In June 2007, Republic Act No. 9487 was passed by the Philippine Congress, extending the corporate life of the state-run gaming firm by 25 years, renewable for another 25 years, and prescribing the following amendments to the PAGCOR Charter:
1. PAGCOR can enter into agreements, including joint venture, with any person, firm, association or corporation
2. Requirement to obtain consent of the local government authority that has territorial jurisdiction over the area chosen as site for any of PAGCOR’s operations.
3. Exclusion of jai-alai from PAGCOR operations; and
4. Delimitation of regulatory authority and power over gaming activities covered by other existing franchises, regulatory bodies or special laws.
