Are Online Casino Winnings Taxable in the Philippines?
Yes, and since May 2026 the rate is no longer a grey area. The Bureau of Internal Revenue issued Revenue Memorandum Circular No. 57-2026 on 26 May 2026, confirming that jackpot prizes and other winnings from casinos, bingo, electronic gaming machines, slot machines and table games run by licensed operators fall under "winnings" in the Tax Code and carry a final withholding tax of 20% for residents and 25% for non-resident foreigners not engaged in trade or business in the Philippines. Your operator deducts it before paying you out. You do not file it separately.
What RMC 57-2026 Actually Says
The BIR issued the circular after repeated questions about whether jackpots, fixed and progressive alike, counted as taxable winnings. Its answer: they do. As reported by BusinessWorld, the Philippine News Agency, the Manila Times and Philstar on 28 May 2026, the substance is this.
| Who you are | Final withholding tax on winnings |
|---|---|
| Philippine resident | 20% |
| Non-resident foreigner not engaged in trade or business in the Philippines | 25% |
- The tax base is the gross prize. RMC 57-2026 computes the tax on the gross amount of winnings, with no deduction for service charges, administrative fees, commissions or similar charges. A ₱100,000 jackpot is taxed on ₱100,000, not on the smaller number left after a platform takes its cut.
- Progressive jackpots are covered. The circular defines a progressive jackpot as a prize that grows incrementally as more bets are placed, whether across linked tables, electronic gaming machines or bingo games, until someone wins it. A pot that builds over weeks is not a loophole.
- The operator is the withholding agent. Licensed gaming operators deduct the tax and remit it to the BIR. That is often why a payout lands smaller than the number the screen showed.
- "Final" means final. A final withholding tax settles that income. You do not add the same winnings to your annual return and pay a second time.
What This Means for an Ordinary Player
- Usually you do nothing. At a PAGCOR-licensed platform the withholding happens at source. Your job is to notice it in the payout figure, not to compute it yourself.
- Ask for the payout breakdown. Support or the cashier should be able to show the gross win and the amount withheld. Keep it. It is your evidence the tax was actually remitted on your behalf.
- A gap worth knowing about. The ₱10,000 exemption people quote is written into the Tax Code for PCSO and Lotto winnings, not casino play. Neither RMC 57-2026 as published nor any other BIR issuance we could locate sets a minimum peso threshold below which casino winnings escape the 20%. Treat "small wins are exempt" as unconfirmed — the official position on small casino wins is not spelled out publicly, so check with the BIR or your operator's terms rather than assuming.
- Losses are not deductible. Philippine tax law does not let a casual player offset losing sessions against a taxed win. The 20% applies to the win, full stop.
- Offshore does not mean tax-free. The circular reaches winnings from unlicensed or unauthorised operators where applicable. What an unlicensed site skips is the withholding, not your liability, and you also give up every protection that comes with a PAGCOR licence.
Where This Sits Against the Rest of the 2026 Rules
The tax clarification lands in the same period as PAGCOR's tightened payment rules, which removed credit cards and cryptocurrency from licensed cashiers. Both point the same direction: money moving into and out of licensed Philippine gambling is meant to be fully traceable. Funding options are in our 2026 deposit rules guide, and the cash-out mechanics are in our withdrawal guide.
The Honest Limits of This Page
- This is not tax advice. We are describing a public BIR circular, not your situation. Residency, whether the BIR would treat your play as a trade or business, and foreign-income questions all change the answer. A CPA or tax attorney can work through that. A web page cannot.
- Circulars get superseded. RMC 57-2026 is the current position as of this update. Check the BIR website for anything issued after it before relying on the rates above.
- A 20% haircut on wins with no deduction for losses is one more reason gambling is not an income strategy. Play responsibly, 21 and over only, with money you can afford to lose.
Official sources — links checked 2 September 2026