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E-gambling app

RG Cruz

ABS-CBN News

MANILA (UPDATED) — Senate Games and Amusements Committee Chair Erwin Tulfo is including e-wallet service providers in the panel&#x27;s upcoming probe on online gambling.In an interview, he said businesses should also pay attention to their social responsibility, saying they should not be focused only on making profits.&quot;We also have to consider that we have social responsibilities,&quot; he said, adding that if a business harms others, &quot;then siguro we have to reinvent.&quot;&quot;We are always ready to work with our regulators and relevant government agencies to help achieve these objectives,&quot; he said.Tulfo also wants to seek the help of telecommunications companies in addressing the problem of online gambling, which is accessible on mobile phones.&quot;I will ask them, can you help us? Wala pa nga ang batas, but can you?&quot; he said.He said he will also invite gambling regulator Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR) and the Department of Finance to the probe.E-wallet and digital bank Maya said in a statement that it supports efforts to tighten controls and enhance oversight and consumer protection in the financial ecosystem. It said it is a member of the Fintech Alliance of the Philippines, which is working with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas on stronger safeguards on online gaming.Others to be invited are representatives of YouTube, Facebook and TikTok, as well as law enforcement agencies.<div>OUTRIGHT BAN? </div>Tulfo is proposing an outright ban on online gambling, saying the revenues do not outweigh the social problems it brings.&quot;Ang problema kasi, ang sugal kasi is a vice, bisyo na pinakamasamang bisyo...you&#x27;re hurting yourself and, of course, your community.&quot;(The problem is that gambling is a vice, a very bad vice)He said that gamblers are risking money that may have been allocated for their children&#x27;s education or for food for their families.Addiction to gambling could also affect work performance, he said.&quot;Marami, maraming naapektuhan at saka nagkakabaon-baon sa utang, ika nga sanla dito, sanla na doon.&quot;(It affects many people, and others go deep into debt. They have to pawn their belongings)Tulfo said the worst effect would be families breaking up because of a gambling addiction.<div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/business/2025/7/14/hontiveros-asks-e-wallets-to-self-regulate-amid-online-gambling-backlash-1612" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Hontiveros asks e-wallets to self-regulate amid online gambling backlash</a></div><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/7/8/-phones-are-not-casinos-hontiveros-files-kontra-e-sugal-act-1650" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">&#x27;Phones are not casinos&#x27;: Hontiveros files &#x27;Kontra E-Sugal Act&#x27;</a></div>RELATED VIDEO:<div><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/e3deJEDsK18?autoplay=1&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe> </div>Meanwhile, Senator Alan Peter Cayetano on Wednesday called on education agencies to speak up against the continued expansion of online gambling in the country.“Shouldn’t CHED, TESDA, and DepEd weigh in?” Cayetano said during his manifestation on the Senate floor as Senator Bam Aquino, chair of Senate Committee on Basic Education, delivered a privilege speech on the country’s learning crisis on July 30, 2025. “Papayag ka sa P50 billion na kikitain [sa online gambling] pero ang mga bata tuturuan mo na mag-hard work, mag-aral, at ‘wag magsugal?” he said.

Senate Games and Amusements Committee Chair Erwin Tulfo is including e-wallet service providers in his upcoming probe on online gambling.

Senate Games and Amusements Committee Chair Erwin Tulfo is including e-wallet service providers in his upcoming probe on online gambling.

E-wallets, telcos, social media platforms to be invited to Senate probe on online gambling

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E-wallets, telcos, social media platforms to be invited to Senate probe on online gambling

RG Cruz,

ABS-CBN News

Published Jul 31, 2025 04:54 PM PHT

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Updated Aug 01, 2025 02:07 PM PHT

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