When the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) directed e‑cost providers to “delink” from on-line playing platforms, in-app icons and entry factors had been swiftly eliminated. Over the weekend, e-wallets like GCash and Maya complied with the order by the August 17 deadline. In the next days, PAGCOR—the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation—noticed a 50% decline in on-line gaming transactions on licensed platforms, signaling a right away market shift. “From Sunday to yesterday, online gaming transactions fell by about 50 percent after the Bangko Sentral ordered these e-payment platforms to temporarily delink from online gambling integration,” stated PAGCOR Chair Alejandro Tengco throughout a House of Representatives briefing on August 20.
Meanwhile, BSP Deputy Governor Mamerto Tangonan had emphasised that the directive was a protecting measure, urging e‑pockets operators to take away playing hyperlinks inside 48 hours to protect customers and stop misuse of economic infrastructure.
Regulated Platforms Obey, Illegal Sites Thrive
Although this regulatory step affected compliant platforms, unlawful and offshore operators proved way more elusive. Tengco remarked, “It’s really hard to go after [illegal sites],” acknowledging that whereas regulated operators beneath PAGCOR adopted the BSP directive, these outdoors jurisdiction proceed proliferating.
He estimated that solely 40% of on-line playing platforms are licensed, leaving a troubling 60% working illegally from overseas—primarily based in jurisdictions like Russia, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Cambodia. According to PAGCOR’s newest information, 12,000 unlawful gaming websites had been flagged in comparison with simply 77 licensed ones. As reported by The Philippine Star, thus far, authorities have managed to close down over 8,000 of those illicit platforms, however operators usually evade seize by making minor adjustments to their net presence.
These unregulated websites usually are not simply quite a few—in addition they pose elevated danger. Tengco famous that they incentivize deeper betting by means of extravagant bonuses; “if you deposit Php100,000 … they give four times, five times bonuses,” methods that exacerbate playing habit and exploit customers. He additional highlighted that these platforms are a core driver in rising underage playing, together with by customers beneath 21.
Survey Indicates Shift, Not Reduction, in Online Gambling
A research by The Fourth Wall provides nuance to the noticed tendencies. It discovered that whereas licensed platforms misplaced up to70% of customers after e-wallets minimize their integration, unlawful websites skilled a 40% rise in visitors. This suggests a shift in betting habits reasonably than an total decline in exercise.
The ballot—performed amongst 1,250 energetic on-line gamblers throughout city zones utilizing panels and in-person surveys—had a ±2% margin of error at a 95% confidence stage. It revealed that reliance on e-wallets created deceptive perceptions of security; gamblers trusted platforms merely as a result of they accepted acquainted cost channels, even when websites had been unregulated.
For PAGCOR, the collapse in licensed exercise comes at a fiscal value. In the primary half of 2025 alone, the regulator earned ₱114.83 billion from on-line gaming—over 53% of its whole gaming income of ₱215 billion. These revenues fund common healthcare and social applications. Some lawmakers, nevertheless, stay involved that the social harms related to playing could outweigh these advantages.
Tengco pleaded with legislators to bolster PAGCOR’s capabilities reasonably than impose a blanket ban. He emphasised that illicit operators will at all times discover workarounds, and warned towards blaming cost apps, which are sometimes abused through “mule merchant” accounts. These masquerade as authentic purchases, disguising betting transactions and enabling unlawful actions.
To counter these challenges, he urged Congress to supply stronger authority and instruments to focus on unlawful platforms whereas sustaining oversight over lawful operations.
