Deputy Minority Leader Senator Rodante Marcoleta on Tuesday urged government agencies to partner with legal online gambling operators to help combat the rise of illegal e-gambling sites in the country.

During a Senate hearing on proposed measures seeking to tighten regulation or impose a total ban on online gambling, Marcoleta questioned why legal operators were not being utilized in the government’s efforts to monitor and shut down illegal platforms.

“Bakit ‘di n'yo tignan yung online gambling operators? Bakit hindi sila tumulong sa gobyerno? Tutal sila ang mino-monitor eh (Why don’t you look into the online gambling operators? Why aren’t they helping the government? After all, they’re the ones being monitored)," Marcoleta asked Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) Deputy Executive Director Aboy Paraiso.

Paraiso reported that over 10,000 illegal online gambling sites and apps have already been taken down by authorities. However, he admitted that the government’s jurisdiction only covers platforms operating within the country, not offshore entities based abroad.

He also cited the challenge of tracking users who access illegal sites through virtual private networks (VPNs), which mask their true locations.

In response, Marcoleta called on the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) to address the issue at its root, starting with stricter coordination with tech giants like Google and Apple to regulate gambling apps available in app stores.

“Ang ating problema talaga, kahit na legal o illegal, yung social ills ng online gambling ay nandyan talaga (Our real problem is that, whether legal or illegal, the social ills of online gambling are still very much present),” Marcoleta said, noting the societal harm brought about by the increasing accessibility of digital gambling platforms.

The senator acknowledged the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ move to delink e-wallets from gambling apps as a positive step, but stressed that it was not enough to eliminate the broader risks posed by the growing digital vice.