A PHILIPPINE Senator on Tuesday filed a bill that seeks to implement stricter rules for online gambling platforms in a bid to curb the rise of gambling addiction among younger Filipinos.
“We filed a bill to restrict online gambling in our country. Because we have received many reports that even children are now gambling,” Senator Sherwin T. Gatchalian said in a news briefing.
The proposed measure seeks to raise the minimum cash-in requirement for online gambling platforms to P10,000, while a P5,000 minimum top-up is required to deter compulsive gamblers.
Mr. Gatchalian is seeking to raise the minimum legal gambling age to 21 from 18, to protect young Filipinos from early exposure to online gambling.
“We also have regulations, so that not everyone can enter online gambling,” he added.
“Even with P20 you can gamble. That’s why many people are now entering, and the regulations are very weak.”
He said that the bill also bans the sponsorship of gambling platforms from public events and prohibits gaming entities from donating to campaigns.
It mandates regulators to allocate a portion of collected regulatory fees toward the establishment of gambling addiction rehabilitation centers.
He added that online banks would also be prohibited from facilitating gambling transactions.
“Due to its accessibility, online gambling activities have magnified the dangers from gambling and have been linked to the erosion of our moral fibers, as it has caused an increase in mental health problems, financial problems, addictive behavior, vices, and crime rates,” he said.
Separately, Mr. Gatchalian called on the Philippines Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR), the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to strengthen their enforcement against illegal gaming websites.
“I strongly urge PAGCOR, along with the DICT, NBI, police, and other law enforcement agencies, to conduct a thorough operation to block these websites from being accessed by local internet users,” he said in a statement.
He also called on the agencies to expedite their crackdown on illegal online platforms. — Adrian H. Halili