Online Gambling Boom Sparks Require Ban In Philippines

Women, children and bad amongst victims


Lawmakers propose constraints or overall restriction


Church lambastes 'moral and social crisis'


By Mariejo Ramos


MANILA, July 25 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Before assisting fellow gamblers stopped the live roulette wheel or pass up the magnificence of a royal flush in poker, Filipino Reagan Praferosa fought his own dependency - a passion that almost cost him his life.


Enthralled by the "big-shot identity" that featured early casino triumphes in Las Vegas and later in Manila, Praferosa went on to lose 50 million pesos ($873,515) in seven years.


He was imprisoned for theft to cover the debt, sent out to rehabilitation centers and after that attempted to take his own life.


"Gambling is a psychological disease. It only leads to 3 locations: jail, organization or death," said Praferosa, who a support system in 2011 for Filipinos with a gambling addiction.


The group, managed by 5 individuals, has actually assisted more than 300 people with online daily conferences. Its members are as young as 13 and as old as 72.


Lawmakers and the Catholic Church fret that dependency is soaring, with ever more bettors drawn to online video games, their requirement sped up by social-media ads and e-wallet platforms.


"The variety of callers we received is 10 times more than usual. Before, callers were dominated by guys. But now they ´ re dominated by mothers ... kids also," said Praferosa.


Several legislators have filed bills seeking limitations on online betting, such as prohibiting using e-wallets that allow larger, much faster bets. Others desire an overall ban.


Online gaming has removed rapidly in the Philippines, with federal government incomes from taxes and costs paid by local operators for the first quarter estimated at 51 billion pesos, ($892 million) according to report citing data from the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR), the federal government's video gaming regulator.


It represented about half of the federal government ´ s total video gaming earnings up until now this year.


At least 80 electronic gaming operators have licences in the Philippines, according to PAGCOR.


Gian Samson, a PAGCOR employee, stated he backs a straight-out restriction, declaring the human threats far exceed the economic advantages.


"Online betting must be stopped immediately, and we need to determine what is legal or prohibited. It ´ s not contributing anything to our society," stated Samson, a representative of PAGCOR's worker association.


The chairman of PAGCOR, established in 1977 to control gaming and stop unlawful casinos, turns down an overall restriction and rather favors stricter guideline.


GROWING PROBLEM


Former president Rodrigo Duterte introduced online betting in 2016, unlocking to mostly Chinese-owned companies that dealt with clients outside the country.


President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. reversed track and imposed a restriction on the outdoors entities last year, pointing out a "serious abuse" of laws by the industry.


However, domestic digital versions of standard casino video games, such as fruit machine, poker and roulette, are still permitted and can be accessed from mobile gadgets.


While online gaming is legal, Samson stated regulators have failed to restrict the market or control who can access these video games, as is mandated.


"They are giving Filipinos simple and hassle-free access to betting. In just a tap of a button, you can diminish your life cost savings," he stated.


Players can join a game, then withdraw all their profits through popular e-payment apps that even children can utilize, he said.


DigiPlus Interactive, operator of video gaming sites BingoPlus, ArenaPlus and GameZone, said prohibiting certified operators would "drive players toward prohibited, unregulated sites with no safeguards" as well as hit some 50,000 employees in the sector.


"We are open to evolving and improving any place required. If there are brand-new standards to satisfy, or much better ways to safeguard gamers, we will act promptly and properly," DigiPlus Chair Eusebio Tanco said in a declaration.


RECOVERY


The church has actually decried online gambling as a "ethical and social crisis" and required a restriction.


"It is now a public health crisis in our society, much like drug addiction, alcohol addiction and other kinds of addiction. It damages not just the person however also their families," Cardinal Pablo Virgilio David, president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines, said in a pastoral letter.


He said online gambling injures poor Filipinos who have nearly no wage or cost savings and young people who are currently battling with the expense of education as well as other susceptible people.


In one Facebook healing group with more than 25,000 members, one user said he attempted to visit setting up an online gambling obstructing app called Gamban but failed to suppress his dependency.


Gamban, a software company based in Britain, can be set up on personal gadgets to obstruct online gaming sites.


Gamban founder Matt Zarb-Cousin said the Philippines is the app ´ s third-highest source of brand-new signups, after Brazil and Britain, reflecting a rise from about 26,000 visitors in 2024 to more than 32,000 in the first half of 2025.


"It might be driven by the occurrence of online gaming, legal and prohibited," said Zarb-Cousin.


He said online gambling establishments are connected with greater rates of addiction than conventional gaming, and about 80% of Gamban users play mostly slots.


"Everyone desires to make much better lives for themselves, and betting is something that can completely destroy that in a really brief area of time," said the former betting addict.


In nations such as Britain, the Netherlands and Norway, Gamban is totally free. In the Philippines, it costs $3.49 a month.


"There must be obligations put on betting operators to protect consumers adequately. And in my perfect world, there would not be as numerous individuals requiring Gamban," he stated.


"Regulation, if done effectively, can avoid or at least reduce online gambling significantly." (Reporting by Mariejo Ramos. Editing by Lyndsay Griffiths and Ellen Wulfhorst. The Thomson Reuters Foundation is the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters. Visit https://www.context.news)