On July 22, 2025, what was originally seen as the "fate judgment day" for online gambling, the State of the Nation Address (SONA) by the President of the Philippines was suddenly called off. President Marcos Jr. ordered a halt to all related preparations to fully address the widespread flooding caused by the southwest monsoon.
In a public speech, Marcos Jr. expressed his "extreme disappointment" that some government departments were still posting SONA promotional posters and demanded their immediate removal to focus entirely on disaster prevention and mitigation. This sudden shift spared the Philippine gambling industry, which was already under scrutiny, from potential critical impacts.
The SONA, originally scheduled for July 28, was seen as a crucial window for Marcos Jr. to declare his policy direction on gambling. Rumors had been circulating about a complete halt to online gambling, massive license revocations, and the deportation of foreign workers, causing high alert in the gambling industry. Many Chinese-funded gambling enterprises and Chinese operators had been preparing for this "final judgment."
However, the sudden flood disrupted this process.
On the evening of July 21, the Presidential Palace issued an emergency statement that all work and classes would be suspended in Metro Manila and several provinces due to the storm, shifting administrative resources and media focus entirely to disaster prevention and relief. Consequently, SONA was postponed, and the fate of online gambling was temporarily "shelved."
The industry breathed a sigh of relief, with some insiders jokingly calling the heavy rain a "lifesaving rain."
However, the storm will eventually pass, and SONA will be restarted. Regardless of how the flood disrupts, the issue of whether the Philippines will continue to nurture this "cash cow" in terms of tax revenue must be faced. A real policy storm may be brewing.
