Online Sakla Casinos in the Philippines: Legality and Alternatives

Due to its popularity, Filipinos often seek a form to play online sakla, especially trying to circumvent the law that currently prohibits it. As a Filipino, you are most likely familiar with it, but we should start by explaining that sakla is a card game based on the Spanish tarot that is played in the form of gambling in the Philippines. Now, let’s learn what can be done to gamble legally in the Philippines!

Best Online Casinos in the Philippines for Sakla Alternatives

Although you cannot find online sakla in the online casinos below, they are filled with a few legal alternatives in the form of games of chance for you to play. Some good examples are blackjack, online roulette, and video poker. All of them passed our tests and review, so feel free to register on the one that matches your preferences:

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Is Online Sakla Legal in the Philippines?

Sakla is completely illegal in the Philippines in all its forms, just like jueteng and mahjong. We are not here to judge whether the authorities are fierce or if they turn a blind eye to the activities. Since it is considered illegal, you should not play any form of online sakla.

Keep in mind that by making an online sakla bet, you are not only risking a penalty but also participating in sakla games that are not regulated or supervised. In other words, pinoy players cannot know if they have real chances of winning like in legalized forms of gambling.

The reason behind the illegality is indicated as a way of protecting the young from an illegal activity that was commonly played at funerals and wakes. However, the most probable reason is the incapacity of the government to control and benefit from it like it does other regulated games in casinos.

Online Sakla Legal Alternatives in the Philippines

While there are no online sakla variants to play legally in the Philippines, there are fun card games that can also result in winnings if you are lucky. They are not quite the same, but if you are looking for simple games similar to how you play sakla, these can do the trick!

Dragon and TIger

Dragon Tiger

Dragon Tiger was chosen as the top legal alternative to online sakla in the Philippines because of its simplicity. It is all about placing a bet and waiting for the result to be the same one you picked. In Dragon Tiger, you simply choose whether the result is going to be favorable to the “dragon” or the “tiger” hand, plus the chance of betting in a tie.

Pai Gow

Pai Gow Poker

The online version of pai gow poker is even simpler than the traditional variant, and it is completely legal to play it online in the Philippines. You simply place your bet, and once the cards are dealt, you separate them in the best possible two hands to "battle" against the dealer's. The ranking is the same as a Texas Hold'em Poker round, which makes it easy to understand.

Play Pai Gow on 20Bet

Baccarat

Baccarat

Baccarat is similar to but simpler than blackjack and does not feature immediate loss, making this card game another candidate to be a sakla alternative due to its simplicity. You need to beat the dealer by taking the card count to 9 or close to it. High cards from 10 to K do not hold value, so it is a bit easier to reach that count!

If you are interested in trying for free or real money, play it on 1xBet!

How to Play Sakla?

Sakla is played with a single deck of cards with the Jokers but with nines and eights removed. Unlike poker, it does not have a rank of cards like the poker hands. These are the rules that guide the whole gameplay:

  • The remaining images, which are jacks, horses, and kings, are numbered from 10 to 12, respectively.
  • The suits swords, clubs, and cups feature breaks in their borders. Swords have three breaks, clubs have two, and cups have one, while the remaining suit coins keep no borders.
  • There are 40 cards and 20 possible combinations.

Players simply make their bets on the respective possible pairs of cards, and the first one to appear is declared victorious. Therefore, the list of pairs below does not have a pair that is worth more than another – whichever appears first wins:

  • 2 and 3;
  • 4 and 5;
  • 6 and 7;
  • 1 and 12 (King);
  • 10 and 11 (Jack).

These are the possible payouts of a sakla round:

  • Tumbok – A perfect two-card combination according to the pairs above pays 18:1 or 19:1.
  • Biyak – When there are 2 two-card combinations in the bet, paying 9:1.
  • Kanto – When the wager is for four two-card combinations, it pays 4:1.

Traditional Sakla Vs. Online Sakla

Traditional sakla was created to kill time during wakes at funerals and also to raise funds for the family of the dead. On the other hand, like all other forms of online gambling, online sakla was created to serve the need for games that pay real money and can be played from anywhere.

Other than that, the only difference between placing a traditional sakla bet and playing online is that one requires a physical deck, and the other one does not. Remember, though, that both variants are completely illegal in the Philippines.

What Are the Best Online Sakla Tips to Win and Strategies?

Sakla is a luck game that relies entirely on chance, which means that you cannot hold any control or influence over the results. Therefore, the only tip and strategy that applies to online sakla is to have proper bankroll management. Simply balance the sakla bets not to risk too much but also not to let losses slowly mine the possibilities of profit.

The same principle applies to all other online sakla alternatives, given that the game is currently illegal. They are all based on chance, so you only need to bet and wait!

FAQs

You cannot play sakla in the Philippines. However, given that the prohibition is on gambling, playin g with no money or gains with your friends at home should be fine.
Sakla is extremely easy. All that you need to do is to place a bet and wait for that pair of cards to be drawn.
Illegality is not enough to hinder people with bad intentions on the web. Do not trust online sakla websites, as they are not regulated and can be rigged.
The prohibition on sakla is so serious that even authorities lose their job if they fail to prevent it in their areas. Therefore, you could suffer serious penalties.

No, you cannot play online sakla on any website, regardless of where it is headquartered. Prefer the sakla alternatives that we listed here, and that can be played online.

Since there are no regulations on illegal online sakla websites, there is no specified payout. The most probable outcome is that the game will be rigged.
Simple card games like dragon tiger are the closest we get to sakla in a legal way at the moment.