Tax Reforms, POGO Bans Among Key Drivers in PH iGaming Surge as Digital Platforms Overtake Traditional Casinos

Manila, Philippines — Strategic tax adjustments, strict regulatory oversight, and a nationwide shift toward digital platforms have propelled the Philippine gaming industry to generate a record ₱396 billion in Gross Gaming Revenue (GGR) in 2025.

Latest data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) and industry benchmarks reveal the electronic and online gaming segment spearheaded total industry growth for the first time, surging to ₱201.12 billion and accounting for half of the total revenue and officially overtaking traditional land-based casino floors.

According to regulated digital platform Buenas PH, the industry milestone confirms a broader macroeconomic trend driven by key decisive policy and market shifts.

First, the decision by the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) to lower the GGR tax rate from 55% to 35% in 2024, followed by subsequent reductions to 30% for e-games, aligned local standards with global benchmarks, successfully drawing capital into regulated domestic channels.

Additionally, the nationwide total ban on offshore-facing Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) removed significant market distortion, effectively redirecting investment into compliant, domestic digital operators. Furthermore, labor dynamics across the sector have undergone a structural realignment, shifting employment away from traditional floor-based hospitality toward high-skill digital operations, software management, and remote platform architecture.

“The industry’s growth signals a mature, structural evolution,” says Ellen Joy Almanza, Managing Consultant at Buenas PH. “It proves that a compliance-first, highly regulated digital gaming landscape creates sustainable, high-value tech and corporate career paths, moving the sector far beyond legacy assumptions of an informal or localized labor market.”

The economic footprint extends directly into the job market. Latest PSA survey data indicated that gambling and betting platforms have the highest wage premium within the broader Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation sector. Employing over 38,000 individuals, the segment recorded an average annual compensation of ₱688,750 per employee, significantly outpacing traditional creative, arts, and entertainment roles.

This structural transition directly supports broader national development goals outlined by regulatory authorities. In a statement on the sector’s digital transition, PAGCOR highlighted the demand for higher-skilled jobs in areas such as IT, cybersecurity, compliance, data analytics, finance, and customer support as the industry evolves, and its commitment to "build a sustainable gaming environment that generates quality jobs, attracts investments, contributes to nation-building, and operates responsibly.”

To sustain the momentum, Buenas PH emphasizes that the next phase of market maturity will require operators to transition from general digital operations toward specialized, front-line technical capabilities. As PAGCOR moves toward operating purely as a regulatory body, licensed domestic operators must absorb primary responsibility for real-time risk management and user protection.

“The next five years will be defined by scaling sophisticated, specialized capability,” adds Almanza. “Moving forward, operators must direct workforce investments into three critical pillars: embedding volume-scale Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Know Your Customer (KYC) compliance into operational roles, scaling predictive AI and data science to detect problematic gaming behaviors before they occur, and recruiting platform architects who can support novel digital formats like esports.”

Furthermore, navigating the rapid digital transition will require operators to fortify mid-level management and supervisory structures to ensure compliance stability during periods of high growth.

Aligning with PAGCOR’s mandatory player protection frameworks and self-exclusion mandates, digital platforms like Buenas PH continue to invest in local tech talent development and advanced compliance infrastructure, ensuring a secure, highly regulated, and sustainable digital ecosystem for Filipino consumers.

What Does the Future of Food Taste Like? Filipinos Get a Taste at Future Menus 2026 Food Trends Adventure

MANILA, Philippines – What does the future of food taste like? That’s what hundreds of guests got to explore for themselves at the Unilever Food Solutions (UFS) Future Menus 2026 Food Trends Adventure last weekend. Held in partnership with GCash for Business, Future Menus transformed the Foro de Intramuros into the home base of a one-of-a-kind food crawl.

The event showcased the culinary ideas shaping how people eat today, and how they may be eating tomorrow. With GCash for Business helping make payments simple and convenient, guests could move seamlessly through the experience and focus on discovering the flavors and trends shaping the future of food.

From Trend Report to Tasting Menu

Future Menus is Unilever Food Solutions’ annual global food trends platform, developed based on extensive research and insights from chefs around the world. This year’s report spotlighted four key trends shaping the future of dining: the resurgence of heritage cuisine, the elevation of street food through more refined techniques, the growing influence of borderless cuisine, and the emergence of more personalized dining experiences.

“Every year, Future Menus brings together insights from chefs, industry experts, consumer behavior, and global food trends to identify the movements that will shape the future of dining. [...] what makes Future Menus truly valuable is [...] translating those insights into practical, profitable solutions that chefs and operators can bring to life in their kitchens immediately,” says Kat Huang, Country Marketing Head of Unilever Food Solutions.

Throughout the food crawl, guests discovered how these trends translated from concept to plate through dishes from 15 merchants, namely: Backyard BBQ, Bigby’s, Bun Run, Caerus, Chotto Matcha, Fiasfud, H Proper, Itamessy, Mezmars & Mau’s, OnlyPans, Poppy’s Halo Halo, Rebel Bakehouse, Sama Sama, Shawarma Ko, and Soriano’s.

Several dishes from the event that offered a glimpse of these trends included Sama Sama’s Filipino beef pares inside a tender bao – their interpretation of the Borderless Cuisine trend, where chefs borrow techniques and formats from around the world while staying true to the flavors of the dish itself.

Meanwhile, Soriano’s shone a light on a classic Filipino dish with its Beef Morcon, bringing back a traditional fiesta dish hardly found on menus today. It’s the kind of dish that captures the spirit of another trend, Culinary Roots, that celebrates ancestral recipes by making traditional Filipino flavors feel exciting and relevant for a new generation of diners.

For dessert, Poppy’s Halo Halo elevated two well-loved Filipino merienda classics – Halo Halo and Mais Con Yelo – without taking away their nostalgic charm but elevating them through craftsmanship, quality ingredients, and thoughtful presentation.

Together with the rest of the menus presented at the event, these dishes proved that the future of Filipino cuisine isn’t defined by a single look or style, but by the ways chefs and businesses continue to experiment with formats, reinterpret familiar flavours, and respond to consumer tastes.

Powering the Digital Future of Dining

Presented in partnership with GCash for Business, the event also marked the first-ever cashless Future Menus, offering a real-world look at how the dining experience is changing alongside the country’s shift toward digital payments. GCash for Business was selected as the event’s exclusive payment partner, powering the end-to-end payment experience from ticketing through transactions at participating merchant booths.

According to Kate Cruz, B2B Marketing Head of GCash, 60% of food and beverage transactions in the Philippines are already digital. One in five diners pay directly using an e-wallet like GCash, adding, “The shift in consumer behavior is already happening. The opportunity now is to make sure businesses are equipped to keep up.”


For GCash, that means looking beyond the consumer side of digital payments. Every digital buyer, after all, needs a digital seller – and with MSMEs accounting for 90% of businesses in the Philippines, more than 56% of these merchants remain digitally underserved.

“Merchants don’t fear technology; they fear friction,” Cruz said. “Empowering consumers was only half the equation, and now that paying with GCash has become part of Filipinos’ everyday routines, we saw that we needed to shift our attention to bridging the gap for the businesses they’re paying, too.”

At the Food Trends Adventure, GCash for Business had a dedicated booth where restaurants and food business owners could register and apply for their own SoundPay Plus device, a payment solution that accepts multiple payment methods and provides instant audio confirmation for successful transactions.

Across the food crawl experience, GCash for Business also launched a Scan-to-Order feature allowing guests to order and pay directly from where they were instead of waiting in line, further showing how digital tools are streamlining the dining journey and easing the experience for everyone.

As food businesses continue to evolve in response to changing tastes, formats, and consumer expectations, the digital infrastructure supporting them is evolving as well. Through GCash for Business, the Future Menus Food Trends Adventure showed that dining is not only about what ends up on a plate, but also how businesses and consumers connect around it.

The Future Menus 4 report is now available to download for free through the UFS website. To learn how food businesses can streamline operations, simplify payments, and focus on delivering exceptional dining experiences with GCash, visit GCash for Business.

LG Electronics Launches 2026 Life’s Good Campaign: Free Up Your Mind

LG Electronics is kicking off its 2026 Life’s Good campaign with a timely message: “Free up your mind.” Now in its fourth year, the global campaign continues LG’s effort to demonstrate how technology and innovation can make everyday life more enjoyable, meaningful, and less complicated.

At the heart of this year’s campaign is the growing challenge of mental load—the constant stream of routines, responsibilities, decisions, and small tasks that occupy people’s attention every day. According to LG’s survey findings, people spend nearly a quarter of the year carrying this mental burden, equivalent to approximately 87 days annually.

While people continue to find ways to stay organized and keep up with their responsibilities, LG’s research highlights something they increasingly value: the freedom to be spontaneous. Beyond simply completing tasks more efficiently, people want more mental space to enjoy experiences, pursue their interests, connect with others, and focus on what truly matters.

This is where LG AI takes center stage. Through the 2026 Life’s Good campaign, LG showcases how artificial intelligence can help reduce the demands of everyday routines. By taking on repetitive or time-consuming tasks, AI-powered technology can provide greater convenience while helping people reclaim valuable mental space.

The campaign reflects LG’s broader vision of using technology not simply to add more capabilities to consumers’ lives, but to make those lives easier and more fulfilling. Instead of asking people to constantly adapt to technology, LG aims to demonstrate how intelligent solutions can adapt to people’s needs.

The “Free up your mind” message also reinforces the core philosophy behind Life’s Good: innovation should ultimately contribute to a better quality of life. Whether it is managing household routines or simplifying everyday decisions, smart technology can help people spend less time thinking about what needs to be done and more time enjoying what they want to do.

As the fourth year of LG’s Life’s Good campaign unfolds, the company is once again connecting technological innovation with a distinctly human goal—creating more room for spontaneity, experiences, and the moments that make life meaningful.

Vivo Philippines and Markd Bring Personalization to Customers with “My Vivo, My Mark”

MANILA, PHILIPPINES — A visit to a Vivo store became a more personal experience as Vivo Philippines and Markd introduced laser customization through “My Vivo, My Mark,” an in-store activation that allowed customers to personalize select Vivo devices and exclusive merchandise.

Held on August 8 and 9, 2026, at the Vivo Concept Store in SM Mall of Asia, the activation marked the first in-store collaboration between Vivo and Markd in the Philippines, powered by xTool laser customization technology.

More Than a Purchase

“My Vivo, My Mark” gave customers the chance to turn everyday Vivo products into personalized items that reflected their identity and preferences.

Existing Vivo users who visited the store with their Vivo smartphones could purchase a limited-edition Vivo-branded aluminum tumbler for just Php 99, with on-site laser engraving available for personalization.

Customers who purchased eligible Vivo Y31d smartphones or Vivo TWS earphones during the activation also received complimentary engraving. With up to five English letters or numbers available, customers could add a personal touch to the back panel of the Vivo Y31d or the charging case of their TWS earphones.

Beyond offering another in-store purchase, the activation created an opportunity for customers to form a more personal connection with the products they use every day. Whether through a customized tumbler, an engraved Vivo Y31d, or personalized TWS earphones, each item became a unique expression of its owner.

The collaboration also highlights how technology can extend beyond functionality. By combining Vivo's consumer technology with xTool's laser customization capabilities, “My Vivo, My Mark” demonstrated how digital innovation can create more memorable and meaningful customer experiences.

Next Stop: SM North EDSA

The “My Vivo, My Mark” experience continues at the Vivo Concept Store in SM North EDSA on August 15 and 16, allowing more Vivo users and customers to experience laser personalization firsthand.

Through the activation, Vivo Philippines and Markd are showing that technology can be both functional and personal—transforming familiar devices and merchandise into items that feel uniquely their own.

Customers can follow Vivo Philippines on social media for updates about “My Vivo, My Mark” and future in-store experiences.

PLDT, Vitro Back Election Transparency Efforts in Milestone BARMM Polls

Leading integrated telco network PLDT, Inc (PLDT) is supporting efforts to help ensure the transparent and credible conduct of the first regular Parliamentary Elections in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), reinforcing its commitment to leveraging technology in support of democratic institutions and nation-building.

As part of its support, PLDT, in cooperation with the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV), is providing critical connectivity and digital infrastructure services for election-related operations, with its VITRO data centers housing critical servers that will receive data directly transmitted by automated counting machines — a partnership with the Commission on Elections that started in 2016, when it first shifted to electronic counting machines, and was strengthened further during the 2025 midterm elections.

PLDT is also providing connectivity for the PPCRV Command Center at AMA and distributing prepaid SIMs to support coordination and election monitoring activities.

"Reliable connectivity and secure digital infrastructure play a crucial role in enabling transparent and credible elections. As the Bangsamoro Region prepares for this historic electoral exercise, PLDT is honored to support Comelec, PPCRV, and other election stakeholders in helping strengthen public trust in the electoral process," said PLDT Chief Operating Officer Menardo G. Jimenez Jr.

"Serving the Filipino people means safeguarding the sanctity of every vote. Through VITRO's secure and mission-critical data center infrastructure, we are committed to protecting the integrity of election data entrusted to us. We are honored to once again support the Commission on Elections and iONE in strengthening our democratic process, this time through the landmark BARMM Parliamentary Elections," said Victor S. Genuino, President and CEO, ePLDT and VITRO REIT Inc.

VITRO data centers are fortified with layers of physical security, engineered to withstand earthquakes up to Intensity 8, and equipped with generators featuring redundancy consistent with prevailing industry benchmarks, along with uninterruptible power supply (UPS) systems designed to keep operations running without disruption in the event of a commercial power outage. Built to deliver service level agreements of up to 99.99% uptime, VITRO's facilities are designed to provide high availability, helping ensure that election data remains secure and accessible when it matters most.

'Significant milestone'

Scheduled on September 14, the BARMM Parliamentary Elections have been hailed by the government as a significant milestone in the implementation of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro and the region's democratic transition.

The initiative builds on PLDT's longstanding support for election modernization efforts. Through its extensive network infrastructure, connectivity solutions, and data center capabilities, the Group continues to help empower institutions with the digital tools needed to carry out critical public functions.

This support also forms part of PLDT's broader commitment to advancing the country's digital transformation agenda. This includes support for the Bayanihan SIM Program, which provides free SIMs with mobile data to Filipinos in geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas (GIDAs), alongside other government efforts to expand access to digital services in education, healthcare, and public service through improved connectivity nationwide.

In addition, the PLDT Group continues to work with LGUs, schools, and businesses of all sizes to strengthen community readiness for emerging technologies. This includes upskilling Filipino entrepreneurs to succeed in the digital marketplace, as well as boosting the government's thrust to harness AI by making AI more accessible and relevant to communities through the promotion of AI literacy via programs like AI-in-a-Box.

For advancing digital transformation across the country, PLDT and Smart recently received the "Bayani sa Last Mile" award from the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), highlighting the Group's role in accelerating digital transformation and supporting countryside development across the Philippines.

The PLDT Group's continued collaboration with government and civil society organizations reflects its commitment to supporting stronger institutions through technology and contributes to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 16 on Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions and SDG 9 on Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure.