Zubiri links online casino boom to suicides, crimes, family collapse

Senator Juan Miguel “Migz” Zubiri painted a grim picture of a nation overwhelmed by a booming online casino industry that he said is “destroying Filipino families.”

Speaking during a public hearing on online gambling by the Senate Committee on Games and Amusement on Thursday, Zubiri revealed a staggering 5,564% increase in online gambling revenues over the past four years — a rise that, he stressed, regulators have failed to keep pace with. 

The senator traced this explosive growth from P8 billion in 2022 to P135.71 billion in 2024, with P106.53 billion already recorded in the first half of 2025 alone.

“Unbelievable. And yet it is real,” Zubiri said, warning that “the financial figures represent more than money, they are shattered lives, drained savings, and family tragedies fueled by digital platforms that are dangerously accessible to the public.”

Zubiri lamented the Philippines’ rise as the region’s top gambling hub, surpassing long-time gambling destinations like Macau, Cambodia,  Vietnam, and South Korea.

“Number one sa sugalan. Nakakahiya at nakakadismaya,At brick-and-mortar casinos pa lang po ito. With online gambling, baka lampas pa tayo sa number one,” he said. 

He also stressed that the industry’s unprecedented growth is not driven by wealthy foreign tourists or VIP high-rollers, but by ordinary Filipinos such as wage earners, market vendors, jeepney drivers, stay-at-home mothers, and even students.

Further, Zubiri emphasized the human cost of the online gambling surge, recounting harrowing incidents from across the Philippines. 

He cited the story of a young man in Bukidnon who died by suicide after accruing online gambling debts he couldn’t repay. He also shared the story of a police corporal who robbed a convenience store in the same province to fund his online gambling.

In La Trinidad, Zubiri cited a 22-year-old who reportedly took his life due to gambling losses, while a man allegedly murdered three people over gambling winnings in Daanbantayan, Cebu. 

Meanwhile, an 18-year-old was arrested in Cebu City for killing a 45-year-old following a gambling-related dispute.

“These stories reveal the ugly truth of online gambling. It is not at all just fun and games, as the colorful advertisements would like us to believe,” he stated.

Fueling the problem

Zubiri zeroed in on the integration of online gambling sites with e-wallets like GCash as a key driver behind the epidemic.

“The biggest culprit is the accessibility and the ease of transactions. Napakaganda po talaga ng integration ng digital wallets at ng mga online gambling sites,” he said. 

“Napakadaling tumaya, mag-withdraw, mag-top up, at tumaya muli, kasi ilang click lang ‘yan lahat online. Hindi mo na kailangan lumabas ng bahay. Napakabilis ng transactions. Napaka-convenient maglaro, mag-scatter,” he added. 

Zubiri lamented that GCash, with over 94 million users, has features that include a “Games” section under “Leisure and over 3 million people have already availed of GCash’s lending products like GLoan and GGives.

“If you run out of money on GCash, no problem. You can borrow more, just so the fun can continue,” he said. 

Citing recent data, Zubiri said online gambling addiction is overtaking drug addiction as a top reason for rehabilitation in some centers.

“In 2023, the Capstone-Intel Corporation ran a survey on online betting, where they found that 64 percent of respondents are engaged in online gambling. No doubt, the number of online gamblers in 2025 has gone higher,” he said.

According to the World Health Organization, every high-risk gambler negatively impacts six other people — multiplying the damage across households and communities.

Zubiri urged fellow lawmakers and regulators to act decisively, noting that the problem has outpaced government oversight.