Online Lottery in the Philippines
Lottery games are present in the Philippines since the first half of the 19th Century, as the Spanish Government conducted them to generate revenue. However, upon the Philippine Revolution and the Spanish-American war, the loteria was forced to stop operations. In 1935, under the Commonwealth Act No. 301, the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) was created and it has since then provided all lotteries in the country. It also regulates online lotto sites in the Philippines.
| Is online lottery legal in the Philippines? | Yes. |
| Are lottery sites in the Philippines trustworthy? | Yes. |
| Can I deposit via PaySafeCard/Neteller/ecoPayz? | Yes. |
| Do online lottery sites accept PHP? | No. |
Online Lottery Laws in the Philippines
The lottery is legal under the Revised Penal Code of the Philippines and the PCSO was granted the monopoly with the Republic Acts 1169. However, at the moment it only has brick and mortar retailers. All the winnings from the lotteries operated by PCSO are exempt from taxes.
The Cagayan Economic Zone Authority (CEZA), Aurora Pacific Economic Zone and Freeport Authority (APECO) and Authority of Freeport Area of Bataan (AFAB) can also issue licenses for online lotto sites. However, and according to the Executive Order No.13, these cannot be offered to Filipino players, only to tourists. But offshore and licensed operators elsewhere are allowed to offer their games to residents in the Philippines.
The Government has also issued the Republic Act 9287 on the prohibition of illegal number games, namely Jueteng and Masiao, that are reported by online lotto news sites as major sources of corruption. As a result, the PCSO created the small-town lottery in 2006, so that it could compete with these games and decrease the number of players.
Online Lottery Payment Methods in the Philippines
Operators are willing to provide gamblers with safe and fair environments. This means that the only payment methods available have a proven record of transparency. In this way, the credit and debit cards of VISA and MasterCard are commonly accepted, but there are also other alternatives that are as efficient and reliable. These include Skrill, Neteller, PaySafeCard or ecoPayz.
Online Lottery Sites Accepting PHP
As the country doesn’t have any national website offering the lottery yet, it is still not possible for Filipinos to play with their local currency. As a result, and without online lottery sites accepting PHP, residents are subject to conversion fees.
