PAGCOR denies hackers’ claim that restricted persons list contains gambling addicts

The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) has dismissed claims by an international hacking group that its National Database of Restricted Persons (NDRP) is a record of gambling addicts, clarifying that the list mainly contains government officials who are legally prohibited from entering casinos.

The clarification came Tuesday after Deathnote Hackers International announced it had accessed and leaked the NDRP on an online forum. The group alleged that the database was filled with government employees and elected officials but also suggested it included individuals with gambling addictions. 

In its statement, the group said: “The majority on the list are government employees or elected officials … since they are strictly banned this includes police officers and others in government service. [The] list is assorted in a way that suggests there is still a possibility some people on it might gamble and [be] addicted. PAGCOR, let’s call it what it is: you are an enabler of addiction, whether you like it or not.”

PAGCOR countered these claims, stressing that the NDRP is designed to ensure that restricted persons are screened and denied entry into licensed gambling venues. The agency also stated that its internal systems were not breached and that the leaked names likely came from one of its licensed operators, which are granted access to the database for compliance purposes.

Ma. Vina Claudette Oca, PAGCOR Assistant Vice President for the Gaming Licensing and Development Department, said the database currently includes over 560,000 names. “The names on the list are not necessarily addicted gamblers; most are government officials who, by law, are not allowed to enter gambling establishments, thus their inclusion in the NDRP,” she explained.

According to Oca, the list is sourced largely from the Department of the Interior and Local Government’s website and remains incomplete given the millions of government employees nationwide. In addition to government officials, the NDRP includes 1,711 individuals who have been formally barred from casinos through self-exclusion, family requests, or measures taken by licensees. 

“These are individuals who have been subject to requests for self-exclusion, family exclusion or exclusions initiated by our licensees, but they are not necessarily addicts or government officials,” Oca noted.