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PIGO takes over

The gaming industry is undergoing a seismic shift following the ban on Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO) at the start of the year. Stepping into the void is the lesser known Philippine Inland Gaming Operators (PIGO), which casino operators quickly adopted as a new avenue for online gaming.

The transition to PIGO has sparked fierce competition among the 28 license holders vying for a slice of the nascent inland online gaming market. DFNN, a technology provider and the first to secure a PIGO license from the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) in December 2020, reported modest revenue of $16.1 million for fiscal year 2022.

Industry insiders note that the PIGO segment remains largely unprofitable, particularly when compared to the robust land-based casino sector, leading analysts to predict minimal impact on the broader casino market in the near term.

Despite the challenges in the online space, the Philippines remains a dynamic and fast-growing gaming hub in the Asia-Pacific region.

Its strategic location, with easy access by major markets like China, South Korea, and Japan, has fueled a strong recovery in land-based casino gaming. By 2024, the sector had rebounded to pre-pandemic levels, with gross gaming revenue growing at a compound annual growth rate of approximately 9.1 percent from 2014 to 2024.

The resilience of the land-based market underscores the Philippines’ appeal as a gaming destination.

The traditional casino sector remains the backbone of the country’s gaming industry, drawing both regional and international visitors.

As the PIGO market evolves, industry watchers will be keen to see whether it can carve out a sustainable niche or remain overshadowed by the dominance of land-based gaming. For now, the casino landscape is a tale of two markets — one thriving while the other is trying to find its footing.

Wither tourism

A new study by the comparison platform HelloSafe has found that, among Asian countries, Singapore is the safest destination to travel to this year. At the opposite end of the scale is, of course, the Philippines, which is the least safe country for travelers in Asia and the rest of the world for 2025.

Singapore is the only non-European country in the top five.

The ranking was based on criteria divided into five categories: natural disasters, societal violence, involvement in internal or external armed conflicts, health infrastructure, and militarization. The ranking, however, was not intended to reflect how attractive a country is to tourists, but rather is “a global index of security and safety based on the largest possible number of objective criteria.”

The company published an index assigning countries a score out of 100, with zero being the safest and 100 being the least secure, from a security standpoint. It said that the results were somewhat surprising and at times ran counter to preconceived notions.

In pole position is Iceland, characterized by HelloSafe as the safest country in the world, with a score of 18.23 points. Singapore took second place, with 19.99 points, closely followed by Denmark, with 20.05 points. Austria (20.31) and Switzerland (20.51) round out the top five.

HelloSafe considers Europe to be the safest continent for travelers, with 12 of the top 15 countries on the list located there. Aside from runner-up Singapore, non-European countries Bhutan ranked 11th (22.98 points) followed by Qatar in 12th place (23.33 points).

As the least safe countries in the world, the Philippines took the top spot with 82.32, followed by Colombia (79.21 points) and Mexico (78.42 points). India, with a score of 77.86, and Russia, at 75.65, ranked fourth and fifth, respectively. Interestingly, the United States ranked 14th on the list, with a score of 59.47.