The online gambling industry in the Philippines has once again become the focus of Congress. During the budget hearing on August 20, several legislators harshly criticized the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) for regulatory failures, openly stating that the agency is "virtually non-existent," allowing illegal online gambling to run rampant, leading to ongoing social and family issues.
At the hearing, Gerville “Jinky Bitrics” Luistro, representative of the second district of Batangas, and Leila de Lima, a party-list representative from the ML party, directly questioned PAGCOR, emphasizing that since the agency holds the power to issue licenses and regulate, it should have the ability to directly shut down unauthorized gambling platforms. "If a convenience store can be shut down immediately without a business license, why can illegal gambling sites operate above the law?" both legislators spoke bluntly.
Facing these questions, Alejandro Tengco, the chairman of PAGCOR, argued that PAGCOR can only regulate licensed operators and is powerless against unlicensed platforms because it cannot revoke a non-existent license. He stated that currently, PAGCOR can only transfer intelligence to the police, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), and DICT for handling.
However, this explanation did not satisfy the legislators. Recent data reveals that up to sixty percent of online gambling operators in the Philippines are completely unlicensed. These illegal platforms evade taxes and regulation, yet wildly absorb money, exacerbating issues like addiction, debt, and family breakdowns. De Lima explicitly stated, "Since they are illegal, they must be ordered to shut down! The social cost of gambling far exceeds the revenue it can generate."
At the hearing, Brian Poe, the Deputy Speaker of the House Majority, disclosed alarming figures: illegal gambling in the Philippines extracts between 50 to 70 million US dollars from the public monthly, amounting to an annual income of up to 140 million US dollars (approximately 8.2 billion pesos). This means that the profits from just eight major illegal platforms could match the annual finances of several local governments.
The named illegal platforms include Poppo Live, Awaz, Vone, BoloUP, Halla Live, Niki, Ximi Video Live, Gem Gala, Himme, and HiChat. These apps, ostensibly operating under the guise of "live streaming" and "entertainment platforms," secretly conduct gambling activities and establish complex virtual token exchange networks, converting player deposits into cash flows for the backend.
Tengco admitted that PAGCOR monitors and reports these websites daily, and has identified about 12,000 illegal gambling platforms, 8,000 of which have been shut down. However, the problem is that the lack of a clear enforcement process means that as one platform is shut down, another emerges, continuing the cat-and-mouse game. According to PAGCOR data, it receives about 2,000 related complaints monthly, sixty percent of which involve illegal gambling.
Poe warned that the problem is further deteriorating, with illegal enterprises continuing to target the Filipino public with gambling websites, posing a serious threat to national economic security and public property. He called for strengthening the regulatory functions of PAGCOR's Compliance and Monitoring Department (CMED) and establishing a rapid blocking mechanism with the NBI, CICC, and DICT. He promised to submit all investigation results and complaint materials to PAGCOR, law enforcement, and the media to ensure accountability and transparency.
Currently, some legislators within Congress have proposed a more radical solution—completely banning online gambling, believing that only by completely abolishing it can the illegal money chain be cut off, preventing the Philippines from being "dragged into the abyss" by the gambling industry. However, considering that online gambling is still one of the main sources of fiscal revenue for PAGCOR, this policy direction remains highly controversial.
It is foreseeable that the regulation of online gambling in the Philippines is at a crossroads: on one side is the rapidly expanding illegal market and social crisis, and on the other is the government's difficult balance between economic benefits and public interest.
