Online Gambling Boom Sparks Calls For Ban In Philippines

Women, kids and bad amongst victims


Lawmakers propose restrictions or total restriction


Church lambastes 'ethical and social crisis'


By Mariejo Ramos


MANILA, July 25 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Before assisting fellow gamblers gave up the roulette wheel or give up the magnificence 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 included early casino success 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 debt, sent to rehabilitation centers and after that attempted to take his own life.


"Gambling is a psychological disease. It just causes three places: jail, organization or death," said Praferosa, who produced an assistance group in 2011 for Filipinos with a gambling dependency.


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


Lawmakers and the Catholic Church stress that addiction is soaring, with ever more gamblers drawn to online video games, their need 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 controlled by men. Now they ´ re dominated by mothers ... kids too," said Praferosa.


Several lawmakers have filed costs looking for restrictions on online gaming, such as restricting using e-wallets that allow bigger, quicker bets. Others want a total ban.


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


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


A minimum of 80 electronic video gaming operators have licences in the Philippines, according to PAGCOR.


Gian Samson, a PAGCOR worker, said he backs an outright restriction, claiming the human threats far outweigh the financial benefits.


"Online gaming should be stopped immediately, and we ought to identify what is legal or prohibited. It ´ s not contributing anything to our society," stated Samson, an agent of PAGCOR's employee association.


The chairman of PAGCOR, founded in 1977 to manage video gaming and stop unlawful gambling establishments, rejects an overall ban and rather prefers more stringent regulation.


GROWING PROBLEM


Former president Rodrigo Duterte ushered in online gaming in 2016, opening the door to mostly Chinese-owned firms that catered to consumers outside the nation.


President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. reversed track and imposed a restriction on the outside entities in 2015, pointing out a "severe abuse" of laws by the market.


However, domestic digital versions of conventional gambling establishment video games, such as fruit machine, poker and roulette, are still permitted and can be accessed from mobile devices.


While online gambling 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 practical access to gambling. In simply a tap of a button, you can diminish your life cost savings," he stated.


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


DigiPlus Interactive, operator of video gaming sites BingoPlus, ArenaPlus and GameZone, stated banning licensed operators would "drive players towards unlawful, unregulated sites with no safeguards" as well as hit some 50,000 workers in the sector.


"We are open to developing and improving wherever needed. If there are brand-new requirements to meet, or much better ways to safeguard players, we will act promptly and properly," DigiPlus Chair Eusebio Tanco said in a .


RECOVERY


The church has actually decried online gaming as a "ethical and social crisis" and called for a ban.


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


He said online betting harms poor Filipinos who have almost no salary or cost savings and youths who are already having a hard time with the cost of education along with other vulnerable individuals.


In one Facebook healing group with more than 25,000 members, one user stated he attempted to stop by installing an online gaming obstructing app called Gamban but stopped working to suppress his addiction.


Gamban, a software supplier based in Britain, can be installed on individual devices to block online gaming websites.


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


"It may be driven by the frequency of online gaming, legal and unlawful," stated Zarb-Cousin.


He stated online gambling establishments are related to greater rates of dependency than standard gaming, and about 80% of Gamban users play primarily slots.


"Everyone wants to make much better lives for themselves, and gaming is something that can completely damage that in a really short space of time," stated the former gambling addict.


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


"There need to be duties put on betting operators to safeguard customers adequately. And in my perfect world, there would not be as many individuals needing Gamban," he stated.


"Regulation, if done properly, can avoid or at the minimum reduce online betting 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)