BIZ BUZZ: Sona 2025: Any bombshell?

As President Marcos goes to Congress to deliver his State of the Nation Address (Sona) today, one regulator who is particularly on edge is Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) Chair Alejandro Tengco.

After all, the bombshell dropped at last year’s Sona was the total ban on Philippine offshore gaming operators, an industry that had once laid the golden eggs but at hefty social costs that the government no longer wanted the country to pay.

This year, the dilemma is on how to deal with online gaming amid snowballing pressure from the Church and some lawmakers. Mr. Marcos has two options: totally ban online gaming or tighten regulations.

“We don’t know. We just wait,” Tengco told Biz Buzz on the sidelines of last week’s Philippine Hotel Connect 2025 Forum. “I think the President will be tackling it,” he said.

For sure, Pagcor is hoping that the Palace would take the pragmatic approach, which is to go for regulatory reforms instead of an outright ban. Otherwise, it will mean that the local gaming industry will lose nearly half of its current business, given the stunning shift in revenue contribution from online platforms.

In the first quarter of this year—and for the first time in history—the electronic gaming sector (e-games and e-bingo) surpassed brick-and-mortar casinos in terms of gross gaming revenues, racking up P51.39 billion in the first quarter versus the P49.28 billion contributed by licensed casinos.

Anything short of a ban won’t be a bombshell. However, it will surely be a welcome regulatory clarification.

Meanwhile, some people speculate that there may be a bombshell, alright, but not necessarily about online gaming.

What some people wait to hear is something related to the ongoing trial of former President Rodrigo Duterte at The Hague. After all, there have been parties urging President Marcos to bring the Philippines back to the fold of the International Criminal Court (ICC), subject to further ratification by the Senate.

To recall, the Philippines withdrew from ICC—the world’s only permanent institution to investigate and prosecute genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and the crime of aggression—in 2019 during Duterte’s term.

If the chatter on the ICC comeback is correct, it will be explosive indeed. —Doris Dumlao-Abadilla

No congratulations? Sorry, no jackpot

Biz Buzz got wind of a claim that a certain Fredelindo Pineda won close to P494 million in the Lucky Spin feature of ArenaPlus, one of the platforms of online gaming firm DigiPlus Interactive Corp.

This supposedly happened last March, when Pineda saw the Lucky Spin pointer land on the “Ultimate Jackpot” spot, with the pot amounting to P493,566.074.01.

He immediately took a screenshot of the winning result. However, he did not see the prize money reflected on his account balance.

Pineda pursued his claim through customer support, but was disappointed.

He has since pushed with the help of a lawyer to seek help from the industry regulator—and also industry player—the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor).

This, too, resulted in Pineda’s disappointment.

He now accuses Pagcor of inaction. Meanwhile, he says ArenaPlus is “determined to simply ignore” his claim.

Celeste Jovenir, DigiPlus vice president of investor relations, corporate communications and sustainability, tells BizBuzz that the matter was a problem with the app’s design.

Jovenir says that the point might appear to have landed on a winning spot and the player would think they have won.

“But we have a backend that processes this,” she says.

The backend refers to the server-side of an app that involves the operations that users do not see, but makes operational the frontend—the part that is visible to the user. It handles data storage, logic and user credentials.

“If you won, a message of congratulations would appear. So that claim, it’s not legit,” Jovenir says.

When asked whether a customer won big time, DigiPlus chair Eusebio Tanco said: “Yeah, you heard about that? Very lucky, right?”

But when told that the winner claimed he did not receive the prize, Tanco appeared confused.

It turns out, he was referring to another player who won P900 million. Jovenir said this happened last June and that the winner was in their 30s.

Not crediting winnings? “We don’t do that!” Tanco exclaimed.

Pineda, however, is definitely not convinced. —Ronnel W. Domingo INQ