The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) and the National Privacy Commission (NPC) have signed a deal to strengthen data privacy safeguards and regulatory compliance across the country’s gaming industry.
The partnership was formalized through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Monday at PAGCOR’s headquarters in Pasay City, marking a coordinated effort to address data protection challenges in a sector handling vast amounts of sensitive information.
PAGCOR chairman and CEO Alejandro H. Tengco said the agreement underscores the state-run gaming firm’s commitment to safeguard the personal data of its employees, licensees and gaming patrons.
“This MOU with the NPC is a vital step in aligning PAGCOR’s policies with the evolving data privacy landscape,” Tengco said in the announcement. “It reinforces our duty to protect personal information while ensuring our operations remain transparent and compliant.”
He added that the collaboration would also facilitate the creation of a national database of government officials and employees barred from gambling in casinos and other gaming establishments. “This forms part of our commitment to promote responsible gaming,” he said.
NPC chairman and privacy commissioner John Henry Naga praised PAGCOR’s initiative, calling inter-agency cooperation essential for maintaining data security in high-risk industries.
This partnership highlights that protecting citizens’ personal data is not only a regulatory requirement but also a mark of excellence in the gaming industry,’ Naga said.
The initiative grew out of a privacy training workshop for state-owned firms, where PAGCOR’s data privacy officer Maria Concepcion Gloria-Rubio proposed a framework to boost compliance.
Under the MOU, both agencies will launch joint programs on privacy awareness, capacity building and policy development to enhance governance standards and public trust in the Philippines’ gaming sector.
