Regulators should take action against online gambling operators allegedly embedding their platforms in widely used digital applications, Senator Sherwin Gatchalian said on Monday.
“I am deeply concerned by reports that online gambling has infiltrated some of the most widely used digital platforms, including messaging apps and e-commerce sites such as Viber, Telegram, and Lazada. This is a malicious and predatory practice that we should not tolerate,” Gatchalian said in a statement.
He called on the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR), the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), and the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) to “immediately order the delinking of online gambling sites from messaging and e-commerce platforms operating in the country.”
“These sites are appearing everywhere. The government must act faster! Our phones and online apps cannot simply be turned into gambling platforms,” he added.
Gatchalian called for immediate government intervention to prevent gambling operators from exploiting technology and online services, supposed to make life more convenient for Filipinos.
Over the weekend, top e-wallets, Gcash and Maya announced that they have removed all in-app gaming sites from their platforms as of Saturday evening, August 16, in compliance with a directive from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).
The Ayala Group’s Gcash said in an advisory that it suspended access to gaming via “Glife” on August 16, at 8pm. PLDT-owned Maya disabled its “The Games” feature.
Both Gcash and Maya expressed support for the government’s program “to protect the financial health of Filipinos” and “promote the responsible use of digital financial services.” (PNA)
