‘If we fail to draw a line between play and peril, this digital gamble will not be remembered as entertainment — but as betrayal.’
(First part of two parts)
NLINE gaming dazzles with pixelated thrills; online gambling darkens digital alleys. One captivates with control, the other exploits chaos. But together, they extract more than money or time — they displace discipline, diminish potential, and prey on distraction.
In a country with 43 million gamers, Filipino youth aged 16 to 24 are more than a market demographic — they are the pulse of digital dependency.
Online games like Mobile Legends, Call of Duty, and Genshin Impact offer virtual escape — but also breed compulsions.
For students locked out of quality education or trapped in overcrowded classrooms, gaming simulates control.
But once monetized, control slips fast. Loot boxes become slot machines. “Pay-to-win” mechanics monetize gratification. The very code of play has mutated — from amusement to manipulation.
E-wallets like GCash, Maya, and Coins.ph, among others, once symbols of financial inclusion, now act as silent accomplices. These platforms are widely accepted across gaming and gambling sites, allowing minors to transact through borrowed credentials and unverified accounts.
Empowerment has given way to ensnarement — all while oversight remains a whisper.
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), under Governor Eli Remolona, has acknowledged the crisis.
Recent proposals aim to sever e-wallet ties with unauthorized gambling platforms — but enforcement remains porous.
In 2022, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) ordered the removal of e-sabong from digital finance channels, following a presidential directive to suspend all operations.
Yet illicit apps persist, and circumvention thrives — a reality underscored by viral footage of lawmakers caught watching sabong online during legislative sessions. One congressman, later identified, claimed he merely opened a video link sent by a relative. But the optics are damning: even those tasked with oversight appear entangled in the very platforms they’re meant to regulate.
Accountability lags — not for lack of policy, but for absence of consequence.
The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), led by Secretary Henry Aguda, must evolve from technical enforcer to true co-regulator. Website takedowns and campus Wi-Fi blocks are commendable. But the overdue mandates now include app store oversight, age-gating protocols, and ISP accountability. A cross-agency firewall is essential.
Know-Your-Customer (KYC) safeguards routinely fail. Fake IDs pass. Borrowed accounts flourish. A 17-year-old can wager a parent’s paycheck with just a few taps.
In 2017, while leading Mohur Inc., I helped pioneer eComply — a homegrown Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing (AML/CTF) platform equipped with biometric eKYC, algorithmic alerts, and real-time transaction monitoring. Certified by AMLC Opinion No. 17-08, it met regulatory standards long before this crisis ever breached headlines.
Its underutilization speaks volumes — not of lacking innovation, but of institutional indifference. eComply didn’t fall short. It built the scaffolding. But industry players chose not to climb. In their refusal, they left millions exposed.
Congress is stirring. But too many legislators remain unmoved by the real consequences of digital gambling on youth.
Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian’s Anti-Online Gambling Act of 2025 rightly describes e-wallets as “accelerants” — digital fuel turning temptation into tragedy.
Sen. Risa Hontiveros’ Kontra E-Sugal Act (SB 2593) proposes tighter controls: banning gambling access via e-wallets and super apps, barring users under 21, prohibiting digital ads, mandating PAGCOR loss limits, and levying a 10% gross revenue tax to fund treatment and public education.
Akbayan Party-list Rep. Chel Diokno pushes for criminal liability and steep penalties for e-money issuers who enable underage betting or fail to block illicit platforms.
The message is clear: gatekeepers must be held accountable.
App stores (Apple, Google, Huawei, Samsung, among others), social media (Facebook, TikTok, Instagram etc.), and payment-enabled messaging apps (WeChat, Viber, WhatsApp, Telegram, Facebook Messenger, among others) must enter legislative focus. Their place in digital payment ecosystems renders them complicit — unless regulated.
Even Malacañang has signaled openness. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., through PCO Undersecretary Clarissa Castro, expressed interest in taxing online gambling — if “welfare-driven” and “well-studied.”
DOF Secretary Ralph Recto estimates a 10% hike in gross gaming revenue taxes could yield ₱20 billion annually.
But revenue is no firewall. Fiscal gains cannot justify youth exposure.
To transform BSP into a true regulator, not a bystander, reforms must include:
Biometric age verification integrated with platforms like eComply
Public bulletins naming banned apps and entities
Hefty fines for repeat digital finance offenders
A national campaign to assure families that protections are real — not just promised
This isn’t wishful thinking. It’s overdue accountability, powered by local innovation.
Gambling’s descent is often quiet. A child chasing jackpot lights at midnight. A call center agent betting wages on an NBA parlay. A tricycle driver is deep in debt after mobile wagers on borrowed cash.
And always, PAGCOR watches — and earns big time. Thanks, but no thanks to Pagcor Chairman Alejandro Tengco and Pagcor President Wilma Eisma.
In Q1 2025, PAGCOR reported ₱14.32 billion in revenue from e-casinos, e-bingo, and online sports betting. These are now its top income streams.
But profit raises a question: how does a regulator weigh public welfare against its own windfall?
Even the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) under Chairman Felix Reyes and General Manager Mel Robles, with its digital e-lotto, mirrors these concerns. Charity cannot excuse unchecked access.
Uniform safeguards must apply to both PAGCOR and PCSO. Responsible gaming cannot coexist with persistent underage betting.
This isn’t a theoretical crisis. It’s hitting families now.
We need:
A digital firewall separating minors from compulsion
A registry linking licensed platforms to verified identities
A loot box ban for users under 18
A blanket prohibition on e-wallets enabling underage gambling
A National Redemption Fund — reparations for lives already disrupted
What began with coins at a perya now glows from a child’s screen at 2 a.m. Quiet. Constant. Devastating.
Advertising by Pagcor and PCSO must no longer package addiction as aspiration.
A nation built on sacrifice must not wager its children — or its future.
Cardinal Pablo David once called this “a theater of the absurd.” But this is no theater. There is no applause. Only the silence of a child staring at a blank test paper. A mother confused by a phantom charge. A family broken by lights that never paid out.
We are not out of time. But we are close.
If we fail to draw a line between play and peril, this digital gamble will not be remembered as entertainment — but as betrayal.
