Tovic Salvador

No more piso bet? Lawmaker wants to set P10,000 as minimum bet on gambling

Article (news)

Rowegie Abanto

ABS-CBN News

<p><strong></strong>MANILA — A lawmaker on Monday said he has filed a bill that <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/7/1/gatchalian-wants-stiffer-regulations-for-online-gambling-1612">proposes tighter regulations</a> for the online gambling industry, including setting the minimum bet to P10,000.</p><p>Speaking on ANC, Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian said he has filed a bill to &quot;strictly regulate&quot; online gambling, noting that there is a &quot;failure of regulation right now&quot; because anyone can play on the sites, which &quot;should not [be] the case.&quot;</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/business/2025/7/14/licensed-online-gambling-operators-we-are-compliant-responsible-1703">Licensed online gambling operators: We are compliant, responsible</a></div><p>&quot;The reason why I filed regulation instead of banning is because, based on our research, banning is technologically difficult as of this time because they will just go underground,&quot; said Gatchalian, chair of the Senate Committee on Finance.</p><p>&quot;If we ban it and they go underground, then we have a bigger problem because we cannot see them.&quot;</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/8/6/gcash-to-roll-out-feature-allowing-users-to-limit-online-gambling-0019">GCash to roll out feature allowing users to limit online gambling</a></div><p>Under Gatchalian&#x27;s bill, the minimum bet is raised to P10,000, which could discourage poor Filipinos from betting.</p><p>He noted that currently, as low as P1 can be used to bet on some gambling sites, which he warned could pile up when done over many days.</p><p>Proposals from lawmakers on online gambling range from a total ban to tighter regulations.</p><p>Proponents of a complete ban on online gambling say the social costs it brings, such as addiction and damaged families, outweigh the revenue the government collects from the industry. </p><p>Ahead of expected amendments to policies on online gambling, Gatchalian said he has &quot;flagged&quot; the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas to come up with a regulation to &quot;disentangle&quot; e-wallets and online gambling platforms, which he said is making gaming &quot;too convenient.&quot;</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>LOAN SHARKS, GAMBLING SITES &#x27;INTERTWINED&#x27;</strong></div><p>Gatchalian also said he is supporting the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) on addressing &quot;organized loan apps&quot; that are &quot;preying on&quot; poor Filipinos to get loans, some of which &quot;end up in gambling.&quot;</p><p>&quot;The online gambling apps and the online loans, especially the loan sharks, they are together,&quot; Gatchalian said.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/business/2025/8/5/your-friend-is-borrowing-money-for-the-first-time-do-you-say-yes-or-no-1445">Your friend is borrowing money for the first time. Do you say yes or no?</a></div><p>He noted that evidence gathered by PAOCC showed that &quot;a lot&quot; of those who have fallen into online gambling addiction turn to online lending sites and consequently get buried in loans.</p><p>&quot;These are two intertwined vices,&quot; he said.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/7/17/recovering-online-gambling-addict-says-he-lost-over-p1-million-1926?fbclid=IwY2xjawL1C2VleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETF0bDRqdzFSVHV3MnlCeXljAR4RoEgAd7D9Tr3Aqp9gDFCvplxmhmSKMSUsN8qIJTa1bT_y0xqdZeq3oz73YQ_aem_-riytKcj2zIUVgktYjSfww">Recovering online gambling addict says he lost over P1 million</a></div>

<p>A lawmaker on Monday said he has filed a bill that proposes tighter regulations for the online gambling industry, including setting the minimum bet to P10,000.</p>

A lawmaker on Monday said he has filed a bill that proposes tighter regulations for the online gambling industry, including setting the minimum bet to P10,000.