Philippine authorities close over 8,000 merchant accounts linked to illegal online casinos
Businesses such as bakeries and beauty salons were reportedly used to funnel payments to unregistered gaming operators.
Philippines.- Authorities have reportedly closed than 8,000 merchant accounts after discovering that everyday businesses like bakeries, beauty salons and small shops were being used to move money to unlicensed online casino operators. According to Bloomberg, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the country’s central bank, merchant accounts were found to have processed thousands of transactions as low as PHP50 (US$0.80), many occurring late at night when the businesses in question would have been closed.
BSP deputy governor Mamerto Tangonan told Bloomberg: “We want to protect consumers from online fraud, illegal activities and also from money launderers,” he said, arguing that digital payments cannot grow if consumers keep losing money to theft or scams.
Pagcor chairman and chief executive Alejandro Tengco said the regulator was aware that businesses with harmless-looking names were actually fronts for unregistered gaming operations. “Unfortunately, we don’t have control over that,” he said, adding that Pagcor is working with the central bank to address the issue. Tengco said last month that a Pagcor-built app meant to direct players towards licensed gaming platforms was on track to launch before the end of the year.
A draft central bank proposal would require payment service providers to conduct more thorough checks on the merchants they onboard. Under the plan, platforms would need to gather additional details, including ownership records and licensing information, and maintain internal databases of vetted, legitimate merchants.
Tangonan warned that companies failing to curb repeated violations risk losing their payment licences. “If there are illegal activities and you’re not able to stop it, then you are accountable,” he said.
