Arthur Fuentes

Citizens use their phones in Quezon City amid the modified enhanced community quarantine on August 16, 2020. Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News

Article (news)

Smartphone user

Vivienne Gulla

Andrea Taguines

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1751538624375Screen Shot 2025-07-03 at 6.30.01 PM.png" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">An e-sabong app remains shut on May 4, 2022. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News/File</span></span></span></div><p>MANILA <strong>(UPDATE) </strong>— A measure seeking to prohibit the promotion of online gambling on e-wallets has been proposed at the House of Representatives.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/health-science/2025/7/2/access-celebs-lure-filipinos-to-online-gambling-says-sociologist-2047">Access, celebs lure Filipinos to online gambling, says sociologist</a></div><p>Five congressmen filed on Tuesday House Bill 721 or the proposed Anti-Online Online Gambling Promotions in E-Wallets Act.</p><p>Under the bill, it shall be unlawful for operators of e-wallet mobile applications to:</p><p style="margin-left:20px">(a) Redirect users to any online gambling platform, website, or application through links, QR codes, or similar digital means;</p><p style="margin-left:20px">(b) Distribute information online on the placing, receiving, or transmitting of a bet or wager through any online gambling website, platform, or application; </p><p style="margin-left:20px">(c) Display, publish, or host online gambling advertisements within their applications or user interfaces; and</p><p style="margin-left:20px">(d) Promote gambling activities online to the general public.</p><p>Once enacted, violators will be fined, and a third offense will lead to a permanent revocation of their business license.</p><p>“Alongside financial inclusion and the ease of transactions, a troubling social and cultural trend has emerged: e-wallets have become gateways to gambling by providing direct access to digital casinos and sports betting platforms,” Representatives Jonathan Keith Flores, Jose Manuel Alba, Laarni Roque, Audrey Zubiri, and Arlyn Ayon said in their explanatory note.</p><p>“Online gambling is a moral, financial and public health concern. Without proper safeguards, e-wallets risk becoming traps for vulnerable Filipinos and safe havens for gambling additions. Thus, this bill aims to ensure responsibility and accountability among e-wallet platforms to prevent their exploitation in promoting gambling-related activities and behaviors,” they added.</p><div><strong>REGULATE E-GAMBLING</strong></div><p>In response to the growing gambling issue, Akbayan Party List is also set to file a bill seeking to strictly regulate online gambling, imposing firm age restrictions on e-gambling platforms and removing access to e-wallet services, often used to easily fund online bets.</p><p>“Sa sugal, hindi chips o pera, kundi pangarap ang nakataya. Sa bawat cash-in sa E-gambling app, may pamilyang nawawasak at kabataang ninanakawan ng kinabukasan. They say ‘you win some, you lose some’ — but only the big gambling corporations win from the dreams others lost,” Akbayan Party-list Representative Chel Diokno said.</p><p>“Basic necessity na ba ngayon ang sugal? Hindi na pagkain o damit ang nasa naglalakihang billboard sa EDSA, pero E-Gambling na. Kaya’t hindi nakapagtatakang imbis na ipambili ng essential goods ang sahod, sa sugal ito napupunta,” Akbayan Party-list Representative Perci Cendaña added.</p><p>The proposed measure will also seek to mandate strict age-verification mechanisms and impose penalties on operators who fail to implement restrictions, especially on targeted advertising and pop-ups.</p><p>&quot;Hindi ‘to simpleng in-app purchase sa mobile games, na kahit maliit nga lang, nagagalit na ang mga magulang natin. Kailangan higpitan ng gobyerno ang access sa e-gambling gaya ng paghihigpit sa mga casino,&quot; Diokno said.</p><div><strong>BSP CRAFTING NEW REGULATION </strong></div><p>The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) on Thursday said it will come out with regulations meant to protect users of digital platforms from risks associated with online gambling.</p><p>According to the BSP, it has already circulated a draft circular and is currently reviewing feedback from stakeholders.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/7/2/proposed-ban-on-online-gambling-also-penalizes-bettors-endorsers-1817">Proposed ban on online gambling also penalizes bettors, endorsers</a></div><p>“The circular would seek to require BSP-supervised institutions (BSIs), primarily banks and electronic money issuers, to better protect users of their digital platforms from these risks. Protection may come in the form of various limits to gaming access,” it said in a statement.</p><p>The BSP added that it is taking a collaborative approach to crafting the document, “to ensure that the final policy strikes a balance between protecting consumers and preserving access to digital payments for licensed businesses.” </p><p>Back in 2022, the BSP had ordered e-wallets to remove all electronic sabong (e-sabong) operators from the list of merchants in their online apps, which Senator Sherwin Gatchalian now wants done with online gambling in a newly-filed bill.</p><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO</strong></div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/cw7bicY0XGs?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div>

<p>A measure seeking to prohibit the promotion of online gambling on e-wallets has been proposed at the House of Representatives.</p>

A measure seeking to prohibit the promotion of online gambling on e-wallets has been proposed at the House of Representatives.

E-wallets to be restricted from linking with online gambling under House bill

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E-wallets to be restricted from linking with online gambling under House bill

Vivienne Gulla,

Andrea Taguines,

ABS-CBN News

Published Jul 03, 2025 04:25 PM PHT

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Updated Jul 03, 2025 06:34 PM PHT

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