Philippines: Globe Telecom blocks 1,345 illegal gambling sites in Q1

The number is up from 126 in Q1 2023.

The Philippines.- Mobile company Globe Telecom says it took steps to prevent access to 1,345 illegal gambling sites in the first quarter of the year. It blocked access to 260 domains in January, 855 in February and 230 in March through its content filtering system. The company blocked just 126 illegal gambling sites in the first quarter of 2023. 

Globe said it had observed an increase in illegal gambling on its network, with just 52 domains blocked in 2021, rising to 396 in 2022, and 4,237 in 2023.

See also: Philippines: 10 arrested over alleged gambling and scam operations

Anton Bonifacio, Globe’s chief information security officer, said the company has a social responsibility to protect its subscribers from gambling addiction. He said the company has invested $2.7m in building up its content filtering infrastructure to detect and block harmful sites on the internet.

See also: Philippine police arrest 16 over illegal Facebook raffle