The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) on Monday, 14 September, underscored the need for the gaming industry’s regulatory framework to keep pace with rapid technological developments, particularly artificial intelligence (AI).

PAGCOR Electronic Gaming Licensing Department assistant vice president Atty. Jessa Mariz Fernandez emphasized the point during her keynote speech at the CiG iDEA Summit held at Hilton Manila Ballroom at Newport World Resorts in Pasay City.

Opportunities and challenges for gaming regulators

Atty. Fernandez said the growing use of AI presents both opportunities and challenges for gaming regulators.

“The same technology that can help us detect fraud, identify unusual activity, improve compliance, and make regulatory processes more efficient can also be used to make fraud more sophisticated and harder to detect,” she said.

“The challenge, therefore, is not to resist technology. It is to ensure that our regulatory frameworks evolve alongside it,” she added,

Making regulation more effective

Amid the rapidly changing tech environment, Atty. Fernandez said PAGCOR continues to review its policies, engage with legitimate industry stakeholders and strengthen coordination with other government agencies to make regulation more effective.

The state gaming regulator also remains open to new approaches that could improve its regulatory framework and make it more responsive to increasingly complex risks, she said.

“We cannot regulate tomorrow’s technology using only yesterday’s assumptions,” the PAGCOR official said.

She added that gaming regulation cannot remain static, noting that “the future of online gaming will undoubtedly be shaped by technology.”