SEN. Erwin Tulfo yesterday urged e-wallet companies to voluntarily remove online gambling links from their mobile applications amid the growing social concerns raised against the continued operations of digital gaming firms.
Tulfo said that while there is nothing wrong with having a business, company owners should figure a way to “reinvent” their operations if these contribute to social problems.
“These [e-wallet companies] should not wait to be instructed or wait for a measure be passed. Remember, you guys have social responsibilities and we are facing a crisis. Online gambling is a crisis,” Tulfo said in Filipino in an interview with ANC.
“If your businesses do harm to the people, then maybe you have to reinvent… Now, we want to see the so-called social responsibility. Show it to the people. You are big companies, right?,” he added.
Tulfo, who has been elected as chairman of the Committee on Games and Amusement, said he will open an investigation next week on the ills of online gambling based on separate resolutions filed by his colleagues.
He said he will invite representatives from leading financial technology companies GCash and PayMaya, among others, to the committee hearing, along with officials of relevant government agencies such as the Department of Finance, and other stakeholders.
Tulfo said he will also ask social media platforms to send their representatives in relation to the proliferation of online gambling advertisements in their pages.
Tulfo said is supportive of calls for a total ban on online gambling, stressing that its “social ills outweigh the benefits.”
Senate deputy minority leader Risa Hontiveros said she has filed a bill calling for strict regulations on the operation of online gambling.
Speaking at the “Kapihan sa Senado” media forum, Hontiveros said her bill seeks to prohibit the use of e-wallets and other applications in online gambling, and ban the advertising of online gambling sites.
She said she is aware that imposing strict regulations against online gambling will lead to lost revenues, but the government must bear with it for the sake of the Filipinos.
Meanwhile, Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) president Cardinal Pablo Virgilio David yesterday continued to press the government to rethink its stand on online gambling.
David reiterated that it is unacceptable that the government is the one enabling its people to gain access to online gambling despite the hazards that these carry.
“We fully agree that addressing gambling’s social risks requires a whole-of-society approach. But the first moral obligation rests with the State not to profit from vice,” he said.
“When the government acts as promoter, regulator, and beneficiary of gambling revenues, it becomes complicit in the very harm it claims to guard against. No tax revenue is worth the shattered lives, families, and futures lost to gambling addiction,” he added.
“We renew our moral appeal for a policy shift that places human dignity and the common good above short-term financial gains. We urge you and our government leaders to reflect deeply: What future do we build when we normalize vice and dress it up as entertainment?” he also said.
The CBCP has earlier issued a pastoral statement denouncing the “plague” that is caused by the spread of online gambling in the country.
The bishops claimed that online gambling has grown into “a deep and pervasive moral problem, in the guise of entertainment and technology” and urged the government to declare all types of online gambling as being illegal.
Responding to points raised by Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) chairman Alejandro Tengco in a letter dated July 3 letter, the CBCP chief said using the reason of paradigm shift prompted by the coronavirus disease pandemic is not a valid reason to allow online gambling.
“While we recognize that digital platforms have become part of everyday life, gambling is not a basic necessity — it is a vice that profits precisely from human vulnerability and loss,” David said as he dismissed Tengco’s statement that banning online gambling will push their operations underground.
He also pointed how achieving the promotion of Pagcor of “Responsible Gaming” would be impossible in online gaming.
“The very features that make online gambling so profitable — its 24/7 accessibility, anonymity, and convenience — make it nearly impossible to guarantee that minors or vulnerable people are truly protected. There is no such thing as truly ‘responsible’ online gambling when the business model is designed to maximize play, losses, and repeat betting,” he said.
He also pointed how Tencgo’s own letter admits that children still manage to access gambling sites, whether illegal or through family accounts.
“This fact alone shows how unenforceable online age barriers really are. Unlike physical casinos, the home itself becomes the gambling venue — hidden from parents and guardians,” David said.
Lastly, David said allowing celebrity and influencers as online gambling endorsers must be discontinued, contrary to Pagcor’s plan to strictly regulate promotional materials.
“Celebrities and influencers glamorize gambling, normalize risky behavior, and create the illusion of easy money. This directly contradicts any claim of ‘responsible’ promotion. Such advertising preys especially on the youth, who are drawn in by peer culture and aspirational lifestyles,” the Cardinal said. – With Gerard Naval
