Casino staff in the Philippines are no longer allowed to gamble in any of the country’s gaming establishments, apparently as a result of the government’s desire to temper local gambling appetites.

In an announcement posted to the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) website, Angeline Papica-Entienza, Assistant VP of the Gaming Licensing and Development Department, announced that “all employees of licensees holding Gaming Employment License (GEL) are prohibited from playing in any gaming establishments in the Philippines.”

The notice, which was dated September 6, states that the names and relevant information of all GEL holders is to be integrated into the National Database of Restricted Persons (NDRP), a computerized database of individuals who are restricted from playing in gaming establishments operated and regulated by PAGCOR nationwide.

At the end of the second quarter of 2018, PAGCOR’s NDRP featured a total of 1,303 names, although 632 of these exclusions had since expired. Nearly two-thirds of these exclusions were sought by family members of the gambler, while most of the rest were gamblers who’d opted for self-exclusion.