Bill restricting online gambling access to e-wallets eyed in next Congress

The rapid surge of online gambling, plus the convenience of money betting from the comfort of your mobile, has prompted a lawmaker to push for a bill that would block gambling apps from having direct access to e-wallets.

Bukidnon Rep. Keith Flores explained in an interview on Tuesday that mobile wallets have alarmingly become gateways to gambling, having featured a section where users can easily access various online gambling platforms, such as digital casinos and sports betting. They are PAGCOR-registered.

This seamless experience allows users to instantly deposit capital using their e-wallets, which could prompt impulsive gambling or spending more than they intended.

“From the e-wallet itself, there is a list of games. It’s so convenient for someone with an e-wallet to load or top up to continue playing online gambling,” Flores averred. “So, people are more motivated to gamble more.”

He emphasized that accessibility amounts to promotion, making mobile wallet applications become “channels of addiction.” Some e-wallets also provide loans, which he claimed further exacerbate users’ addiction to gambling.

Online gambling, including e-sabong and the now-illegal POGO, flourished during the administration of former President Rodrigo Duterte, especially during the pandemic. While it has significantly generated economic revenues and jobs, critics argued that it has already come at the expense of the poor and vulnerable.

Digital ads, according to the lawmaker, are also instrumental in helping online gambling flourish, given the rise of social media, which has a broad audience, including youth.

"We should also restrict [advertising] because gambling information is easily available. Anywhere you look, you'll see them, and it encourages everyone to join, to participate in online gambling,” Flores stressed.

He continued, “Even delivery drivers can bet while waiting for something. It’s like encouraging people to play gambling anywhere, anytime.”

Flores, who won reelection, plans to file the bill when the 20th Congress opens in late July.

The salient provision will include disconnecting e-wallets and fintech platforms from gambling sites, blocking payment processing for online betting, and imposing stricter safeguards on digital financial services.

The lawmaker has made it clear that the proposal is not yet a blanket ban, though Congress may be compelled to take that direction if the alarming threat of online gambling persists.

Regulators such as the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas and the Securities and Exchange Commission have been urged to examine the operations of e-wallet companies that allow or promote online gambling on their apps.

Meanwhile, Manila Rep. Rolando Valeriano strongly urged President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to revoke any administrative issuances and regulations that allow operations of any form of online gambling, and recommend its inclusion among punishable cybercrimes through a presidential issuance.

He also echoed Flores’ call for the BSP to prohibit any electronic payment systems and e-wallets from being online gambling tools and conduits.

“Online gambling apps must be stopped. This is a poison that is diluting the minds of the poor and dissolving the future of the youth,” Valeriano asserted. “[It’s] highly addictive. There must be insurmountable hurdles laid to stop and reverse the societal menace of online gambling now.”

Moreover, the lawmaker suggested that licensed gambling operations must only be at onsite venues strictly regulated by PAGCOR or the Games and Amusements Board, and far from any residential area.