Online Gambling Boom Sparks Calls For Ban In Philippines

Women, kids and bad among victims


Lawmakers propose restrictions or overall ban


Church lambastes 'ethical and social crisis'


By Mariejo Ramos


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


Enthralled by the "big-shot identity" that came with early gambling establishment triumphes in Las Vegas and later in Manila, Praferosa went on to lose 50 million pesos ($873,515) in 7 years.


He was jailed for theft to cover the financial obligation, sent out to rehabilitation centers and then tried to take his own life.


"Gambling is an emotional illness. It only causes 3 places: jail, institution or death," said Praferosa, who developed an assistance group in 2011 for Filipinos with a gaming dependency.


The group, handled by five people, has assisted more than 300 individuals with online day-to-day conferences. Its members are as young as 13 and as old as 72.


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


"The number of callers we got is 10 times more than normal. Before, callers were dominated by males. Now they ´ re dominated by mothers ... kids too," said Praferosa.


Several legislators have filed bills looking for restrictions on online gambling, such as prohibiting the use of e-wallets that enable larger, quicker bets. Others desire a total ban.


Online gaming has actually taken off in the Philippines, with federal government earnings from taxes and charges paid by regional operators for the first quarter estimated at 51 billion pesos, ($892 million) according to news reports mentioning information from the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR), the government's gaming regulator.


It accounted for about half of the government ´ s overall video gaming profits up until now this year.


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


Gian Samson, a PAGCOR employee, stated he backs an outright restriction, claiming the human threats far exceed the financial advantages.


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


The chairman of PAGCOR, founded in 1977 to regulate video gaming and stop unlawful gambling establishments, rejects a total restriction and rather prefers more stringent regulation.


GROWING PROBLEM


Former president Rodrigo Duterte ushered in online gambling in 2016, unlocking to primarily Chinese-owned firms that catered to clients outside the country.


President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. reversed track and enforced a restriction on the outside entities in 2015, citing a "grave abuse" of laws by the industry.


However, domestic digital versions of standard gambling establishment games, such as fruit machine, poker and roulette, are still allowed and can be accessed from mobile phones.


While online betting is legal, Samson said regulators have actually failed to restrict the market or control who can access these games, as is mandated.


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


Players can sign up with a video game, then withdraw all their profits through popular e-payment apps that even kids can utilize, he said.


DigiPlus Interactive, operator of video gaming sites BingoPlus, ArenaPlus and GameZone, said prohibiting licensed operators would "drive gamers towards unlawful, uncontrolled sites with no safeguards" as well as struck some 50,000 workers in the sector.


"We are open to progressing and enhancing any place needed. If there are brand-new standards to satisfy, or better methods to protect players, we will act swiftly and properly," DigiPlus Chair Eusebio Tanco said in a statement.


RECOVERY


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


"It is now a public health crisis in our society, similar to drug dependency, alcoholism and other types of dependency. It ruins not just the person but also their households," Cardinal Pablo Virgilio David, president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines, said in a pastoral letter.


He stated online betting hurts bad Filipinos who have nearly no salary or cost savings and youths who are already having problem with the expense of education along with other vulnerable individuals.


In one Facebook healing group with more than 25,000 members, one user stated he attempted to visit setting up an online gaming obstructing app called Gamban however stopped working to curb his dependency.


Gamban, a software application provider based in Britain, can be installed on personal devices to block online betting sites.


Gamban founder Matt Zarb-Cousin said the Philippines is the app ´ s third-highest source of 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 frequency of online gaming, legal and illegal," stated Zarb-Cousin.


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


"Everyone wishes to make much better lives on their own, and gambling is something that can completely damage that in a very short space of time," said the previous gambling addict.


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


"There must be duties put on gambling operators to safeguard customers sufficiently. And in my perfect world, there would not be as lots of people requiring Gamban," he said.


"Regulation, if done correctly, can avoid or at the minimum cut online gambling considerably." (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)