Philippine online gambling transactions fall 50% after e-wallets ban, PAGCOR CEO says
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has banned e-wallets from linking to online gaming platforms.
The Philippines.- Alejandro Tengco, CEO and chairman of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR), has said that online gambling transactions have dropped by 50 per cent since the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) banned e-wallets from linking to online gaming platforms from Sunday.
Tengco told the House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations: “Based on PAGCOR’s observations, from Sunday to today, online gaming transactions went down by estimated 50 per cent due to the central bank order to e-payment platforms to delink from their integration with online gaming companies.
“It is the BSP, which regulates the e-payment platforms, and we have been exchanging information with them. I would like to give credit to the BSP because they are also coming with stricter guidelines to control the e-payment platforms.”
He added: “Sadly, less than 40 per cent of online gambling are legally operating … the remaining 60 per cent are illegal who are operating offshore. Our regulation is not perfect, but I am assuring the members of this committee and of the House that we are trying our best to make certain adjustments to cope with the exponential growth of online gaming, not only here in the Philippines.
The BSP had directed financial institutions under its supervision to remove in-app or in-website icons and links to online gambling platforms by Sunday, August 17.
The PlaySafe Alliance has warned that the measure may push players toward illegal and riskier alternatives. “We commend the Senate for surfacing the central truth in its hearing: the harms highlighted, underage access, uncontrolled betting, and financial distress, stem from illegal, unlicensed platforms, not from Pagcor-licensed operators,” the group said in a statement.
