{"id":777029224,"date":"2025-07-18T08:38:48","date_gmt":"2025-07-18T11:38:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/?p=777029224"},"modified":"2026-04-21T20:52:32","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T23:52:32","slug":"another-philippine-senator-joins-calls-for-online-gambling-ban","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/another-philippine-senator-joins-calls-for-online-gambling-ban","title":{"rendered":"Another Philippine senator joins calls for online gambling ban"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Senator Christopher Go has filed the Anti-Online Gambling Act of 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

The Philippines.- Christopher Go has filed Senate Bill No. 686, dubbed the Anti-Online Gambling Act of 2025. Go proposes a ban on the operation, conduct, and promotion of online gambling in all forms, including placing, receiving, or transmitting bets via the internet, with prison terms ranging from one to six months, or fines from PHP100.000 (US$1.746) to PHP500.000 (US$8.733) for violators.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Public officials promoting online gambling would face the maximum penalty, as well as dismissal from service and permanent disqualification from public office. The bill would repeal existing laws and regulations that authorise or regulate online gambling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe social cost has grown too big and too deep,\u201d senator Go told the Daily Tribune. Go described online gambling as a rising threat that \u201cpreys on the vulnerable, erodes family values, and poses risks to financial integrity\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Senator\u00a0Sherwin Gatchalian<\/a>\u00a0has filed a separate bill proposing tighter restrictions without a full ban. Senator\u00a0Alan Peter Cayetano\u00a0is pushing for\u00a0e-wallet providers<\/a>\u00a0to prevent their platforms from facilitating transactions linked to online gambling. Senator Risa Hontiveros<\/a> has also called for stricter regulation for online gambling, saying current laws are falling behind the rapid pace of digital technology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The office of president\u00a0Ferdinand Marcos Jr.\u00a0has said that he\u00a0is carefully weighing the impact of a possible ban<\/a>, following calls from several senators, while Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) chairman and CEO\u00a0Alejandro Tengco\u00a0has said he does not agree with calls to ban<\/a> online gambling, warning that the move could result in the country losing hundreds of billions in revenue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The gaming operator\u00a0DigiPlus Interactive Corp\u00a0has issued a\u00a0warning\u00a0against calls for a\u00a0ban on online gambling<\/a>. The company argues that such a move would do little to address concerns about addiction and corruption and would drive players toward unregulated, illegal platforms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


<\/p>\n\n\n

\n\t\t\tSee also:<\/span><\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\tSee also:<\/span> Philippine president reportedly considers online gambling ban<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Senator Christopher Go has filed the Anti-Online Gambling Act of 2025.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":226,"featured_media":777028000,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"is_press_release":false,"is_interview":false,"is_opinion":false,"focusai_summary":"Senator Christopher Go has filed the Anti-Online Gambling Act of 2025 in the Philippines, proposing a complete ban on online gambling operations and promotion, citing social costs. This initiative faces opposition from PAGCOR, which warns of significant revenue loss, and from DigiPlus Interactive Corp, which argues a ban could foster unregulated markets. Other senators are advocating for stricter regulations rather than an outright prohibition.","focusai_entities":"Christopher Go, Senate Bill No. 686, Daily Tribune, Sherwin Gatchalian, Alan Peter Cayetano, Risa Hontiveros, Ferdinand Marcos Jr., Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation, PAGCOR, Alejandro Tengco, DigiPlus Interactive Corp","focusai_location":"Philippines","focusai_target_profile":"ceo_executive (0.95), regulator (0.98), compliance_legal (0.95), operator_casino (0.98), affiliate_publisher (0.9), marketing_crm (0.9), payments_fraud_aml (0.92), investor_analyst (0.97), supplier_vendor (0.93), journalist_researcher (0.95)","focusai_suggestions":[{"label":"PAGCOR Revenue Impact?","query":"What is PAGCOR's projected revenue loss from a full online gambling ban, and how would this impact national budget contributions and other regulated gaming verticals?"},{"label":"Black Market Proliferation Risk?","query":"Given the opposition's concerns, what specific measures would the Philippine government implement to prevent the proliferation of unregulated, illegal online gambling platforms if a ban is enacted?"}],"footnotes":""},"categories":[154,16333],"tags":[4138,24804],"class_list":["post-777029224","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-legislation-news","category-south-east-asia-news","tag-online-gambling","tag-the-philippines"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777029224","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/226"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=777029224"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777029224\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":777029253,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777029224\/revisions\/777029253"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/777028000"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=777029224"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=777029224"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=777029224"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}