At the hearing of the Philippine House of Representatives Committee on Games and Amusements, the atmosphere was not friendly—several members directly pointed out that PAGCOR's enforcement of online gambling advertising management was "discounted," and the previously promised rectification measures had not really been implemented, with related advertisements merely repackaged and reappearing in the public eye. According to the PASA official website, an accountability session on "whether regulation has been effectively enforced" is escalating.
"Joy Filter" ads are everywhere, Member: Promises not fulfilled
Audrey Zubiri, the representative from the third district of Bukidnon Province, was blunt in her tone. She pointed out that despite PAGCOR's promise to include stronger anti-gambling warnings in advertisements, those brightly colored, cartoonish, and even "joy-filtered" designs are still ubiquitous—seemingly lively but subtly lowering public vigilance. The memorandum of understanding signed between PAGCOR and the Advertising Standards Council was directly described by some members as "unfulfilled promises." Zubiri's words were not heavy, but the meaning was clear: "The existence of these ads itself dilutes the original discussion." Another member, Flores, was more straightforward: This issue has been discussed for nearly a year, and market advertising has not only not tightened significantly but continues to emerge in new variants—"like playing cat and mouse with regulators."
"Subliminal marketing" exploits loopholes, risk warnings too small to find without a magnifying glass
At the hearing, a repeatedly mentioned focus was the so-called "subliminal marketing"—advertisements deliberately magnify words like "Lucky" to entice, while risk warnings are squeezed into the corner, almost needing careful searching to be seen. PAGCOR officials themselves had to admit that most of these ads had passed the existing review process, the problem is not "whether there is a review" but "whether the standards are detailed enough." In plain terms, the review was a formality, but the goalposts are too wide, allowing anything through. PAGCOR responded that it is working with the Advertising Standards Council to develop detailed implementation rules, expected to be released as soon as July, with new regulations aiming to avoid rule duplication and manage advertising content more precisely.
Committee chair proposes a temporary suspension of online gambling advertising, PAGCOR to respond next week
At the end of the meeting, the committee chair threw out a more direct suggestion: to temporarily suspend online gambling advertising until the new regulations are released. Many members nodded in agreement, and the atmosphere suddenly tensed. PAGCOR stated that it would formally respond next week. Meanwhile, data submitted by the Philippine Cybercrime Investigation and Coordination Center to the committee further fueled the discussion: currently, about **60%** of online gambling traffic is directed to legal platforms, 40% still to illegal sites, with about 120,000 illegal gambling sites shut down. These figures shifted the focus of discussion from advertising management to the boundaries of the entire industry—not just how to manage advertising, but to what extent the industry can be regulated. As Congress continues to apply pressure and with the July regulations approaching, the next phase of Philippine online gambling regulation will only tighten. This tug-of-war between "regulation and market" is unlikely to cool down anytime soon.
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This article is from "PASA-Global iGaming Leader" gambling industry news channel:https://t.me/pasa_news
Original in-depth gambling channel:https://t.me/gamblingdeep
Free data reports: @pasa_research
PASA Matrix: @pasa002_bot
PASA official website: https://www.pasa.news
