The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has ordered digital apps to cut off all in-app links to online gambling within 48 hours or face daily fines of P100,000.
The central bank ordered the suspension of such links after senators warned that the industry is fueling addiction while gambling regulator and casino branch operator Pagcor counts record earnings from digital play.
BSP Deputy Governor Mamerto Tangonan told the Senate Committee on Games and Amusement on Thursday that the Monetary Board has approved the removal of all gambling icons and links from payment platforms such as GCash and Maya.
The order gives users two days to withdraw funds before the links are shut.
“We provided 48 hours because we want to give time to e-wallet apps to take them down on gambling sites and for consumers to withdraw their funds,” Tangonan said, warning that violators will be sanctioned.
At the Senate hearing, Tangonan said the order was issued on Thursday.
Compliance pledged
Both GCash and Maya pledged compliance, with GCash saying it shared the BSP’s “commitment to ensuring that digital financial services are used responsibly” and Maya assuring customers that its services “remain secure and fully operational.”
But lawmakers blasted the BSP for moving only after the Senate inquiry. “You circulated a proposal to e-wallet companies in July, but it is only today that you issued the order because there is a hearing,” Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano said.
Sen. Raffy Tulfo added that the 48-hour leeway was unnecessary, saying the Department of Information and Communications Technology had confirmed links could be taken down immediately.
Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor) Chairman Alejandro Tengco, pressed on the social costs of digital gambling, saying the state regulator has been earning billions from the sector but is willing to give them up if harm outweighs revenue.
Government earnings
Pagcor reported P6.19 billion in license fees from online gambling in 2021, P48.79 billion in 2024, and more than P60 billion as of June 2025—now nearly 60 percent of its total revenues.
The boom has been matched by surging participation. Pagcor data showed Filipino online gamblers jumped from 8.2 million in 2024 to 31.1 million as of July this year, or nearly one-third of the population.
Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian called the rise “alarming” and urged Pagcor to shut down all online gambling platforms.
Sen. Erwin Tulfo went further, declaring: “As long as online gambling exists, we are breeding the next generation of addicts, debtors, and broken families. No amount of revenue can justify this human cost.”
Pagcor said it has voided P130 million in winnings of banned individuals such as government employees and minors, and stressed that only 40 percent of online gambling operators are under its regulation.
Earnings from online gambling
Pagcor Assistant Vice President Jessa Mariz Fernandez reported that employment in the legal online gambling industry has more than doubled in three years—from 14,367 in 2022 to 32,302 as of June 2025.
She added that Pagcor revenues from e-gaming directly funded government programs, including P11.57 billion for universal health care in 2024 and P7.59 billion as of June this year.
Tengco said that while Pagcor earns heavily from online gambling, “if that would help mitigate the addiction and social problems, Pagcor would have no objection” — signaling openness to a shutdown if lawmakers found the harm too great.
BSP, meanwhile, is drafting stricter rules to curb the risks, including biometric ID checks, daily limits on gambling transfers, time-based restrictions, and tools for self-exclusion.
Until then, e-wallets that fail to comply face P100,000 fines per day, with penalties rising to as much as P1 million for serious violations.
