Philippine Senate to Hold Hearing Thursday on Licensed Online Gambling

The Senate Committee on Games and Amusement will tackle three resolutions on the topic, as well as the four bills, according to a Senate press release, citing Erwin Tulfo, the committee’s chairperson. The announcement did not name the individual bills, though the existence of a number of measures has been widely reported since last month, when the idea of an outright ban on licensed online domestic gambling was raised.

The Sunday press release came a day after it was reported that the nation’s leader, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, would hold a consultation meeting on the matter, which would include leaders of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines. The Catholic Church has already issued statements expressing concern about the social impact of domestic online gambling. President Marcos’ spokesperson said recently that the country’s leader would not personally act in haste on the subject.

The Sunday press release said that while Senator Tulfo was personally in favour of an outright ban, he had “vowed to hear the positions of the government agencies such as the Philippine Amusement Gaming Corp (Pagcor) and the Department of Finance to weigh the pros and cons if the industry will be outright declared illegal”.

Mr Tulfo said, as cited by local media outlets: “On Thursday we will tackle the bills on online gambling in the Senate committee on games and amusements. I made a commitment to prioritise these bills because the problem is escalating. It’s already a crisis. So, we really need to take action to solve this problem.”

Senator Tulfo was further cited saying, referring to the process by which licensed online betting came into the market: “Our problem is, we were not ready. There is no regulation, and it is why people are gambling recklessly.”

Pagcor and industry providers have said they are focused on responsible gambling measures – including vetting of advertising – and on mitigating harm to consumers.

A number of online gambling operators in the Philippines recently agreed to set up “PlaySafe Alliance of the Philippines” to ensure high standards in the industry.

Senator Tulfo for his part noted of the sector: “You have to weigh it. These are your profits, but here are the social ills. The problem of having people addicted to gambling, how is that advantageous? Are profits more important than people’s futures?”

Senator Sherwin Gatchalian has said the country’s central bank should prevent e-wallets being able to link directly to digital platforms to online gambling sites.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the Philippines’ central bank, said last week it was “taking action to protect financial consumers from the risks associated with online gambling”. 

The institution said it was finalising new rules, following a public consultation period, “that will require banks, e-wallets, and other financial service providers to adopt stronger safeguards against gambling-related harm”.