Online Gambling Boom Sparks Require Ban In Philippines
Women, children and bad amongst victims
Lawmakers propose limitations or total ban
Church lambastes 'moral and social crisis'
By Mariejo Ramos
MANILA, July 25 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Before helping fellow gamblers quit the live roulette wheel or forgo the splendor of a royal flush in poker, Filipino Reagan Praferosa combated his own dependency - an enthusiasm that practically cost him his life.
Enthralled by the "big-shot identity" that featured early gambling establishment success in Las Vegas and later on in Manila, Praferosa went on to lose 50 million pesos ($873,515) in 7 years.
He was jailed for theft to cover the financial obligation, sent to rehabilitation centers and then tried to take his own life.
"Gambling is an emotional illness. It only leads to three places: jail, organization or death," said Praferosa, who created a support system in 2011 for Filipinos with a gambling addiction.
The group, handled by 5 individuals, has actually assisted more than 300 people with online day-to-day meetings. Its members are as young as 13 and as old as 72.
Lawmakers and the Catholic Church fret that dependency is soaring, with ever more gamblers drawn to online games, their need sped up by social-media advertisements and e-wallet platforms.
"The variety of callers we got is 10 times more than typical. Before, callers were controlled by men. Now they ´ re dominated by moms ... children too," said Praferosa.
Several lawmakers have filed expenses looking for restrictions on online gambling, such as restricting using e-wallets that allow bigger, quicker bets. Others desire an overall restriction.
Online gambling has taken off quickly in the Philippines, with federal government profits from taxes and costs paid by local operators for the first quarter approximated at 51 billion pesos, ($892 million) according to report pointing out information from the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR), the federal government's gaming regulator.
It represented about half of the federal government ´ s overall video gaming revenues so far this year.
At least 80 electronic video gaming operators have licences in the Philippines, according to PAGCOR.
Gian Samson, a PAGCOR employee, said he backs a straight-out restriction, declaring the human risks far exceed the financial advantages.
"Online betting should be stopped instantly, and we should determine what is legal or unlawful. It ´ s not contributing anything to our society," stated Samson, a representative of PAGCOR's staff member association.
The chairman of PAGCOR, founded in 1977 to control gaming and stop prohibited casinos, declines an overall ban and rather prefers more stringent regulation.
GROWING PROBLEM
Former president Rodrigo Duterte introduced online gambling in 2016, opening the door to mostly Chinese-owned firms that dealt with consumers outside the country.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. reversed track and imposed a ban on the outdoors entities in 2015, pointing out a "severe abuse" of laws by the market.
However, domestic digital versions of conventional casino games, such as slot makers, poker and roulette, are still permitted and can be accessed from mobile phones.
While online gambling is legal, Samson stated regulators have stopped working to limit the industry or control who can access these video games, as is mandated.
"They are providing Filipinos easy and practical access to betting. In simply a tap of a button, you can deplete your life cost savings," he stated.
Players can sign up with a game, then withdraw all their profits through popular e-payment apps that even kids can use, he said.
DigiPlus Interactive, operator of video gaming sites BingoPlus, ArenaPlus and GameZone, said banning licensed would "drive players towards unlawful, uncontrolled sites with no safeguards" in addition to hit some 50,000 workers in the sector.
"We are open to developing and improving any place needed. If there are brand-new requirements to meet, or much better methods to secure gamers, we will act promptly and responsibly," DigiPlus Chair Eusebio Tanco said in a declaration.
RECOVERY
The church has decried online gaming as a "ethical and social crisis" and called for a restriction.
"It is now a public health crisis in our society, similar to drug addiction, alcoholism and other kinds of dependency. It ruins not only the person however also their households," Cardinal Pablo Virgilio David, president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines, said in a pastoral letter.
He said online gambling hurts poor Filipinos who have nearly no salary or cost savings and youths who are already fighting with the expense of education as well as other susceptible individuals.
In one Facebook healing group with more than 25,000 members, one user said he attempted to visit installing an online gambling blocking app called Gamban however stopped working to suppress his addiction.
Gamban, a software supplier based in Britain, can be set up on individual devices to block online betting sites.
Gamban creator Matt Zarb-Cousin stated the Philippines is the app ´ s third-highest source of new signups, after Brazil and Britain, showing a rise from about 26,000 visitors in 2024 to more than 32,000 in the first half of 2025.
"It may be driven by the prevalence of online betting, legal and unlawful," stated Zarb-Cousin.
He said online casinos are related to greater rates of dependency than conventional gambling, and about 80% of Gamban users play primarily slots.
"Everyone desires to make better lives for themselves, and gaming is something that can completely destroy that in a very short space of time," said the former betting addict.
In nations such as Britain, the Netherlands and Norway, Gamban is totally free. In the Philippines, it costs $3.49 a month.
"There must be obligations put on betting operators to safeguard consumers sufficiently. And in my ideal world, there would not be as many individuals requiring Gamban," he said.
"Regulation, if done properly, can prevent or at the minimum reduce online betting considerably." (Reporting by Mariejo Ramos. Editing by Lyndsay Griffiths and Ellen Wulfhorst. The Thomson Reuters Foundation is the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters. Visit https://www.context.news)