Online gambling ads are now everywhere – on billboards, on mass media, even on social media.
And for some representatives like Calamba City, Laguna Representative Clarisse “Cha” Hernandez, this sudden proliferation of online gambling ads poses a serious risk, especially in a nation where ordinary netizens are most vulnerable to “get-rich-quick” schemes.
“Alam nating mabilis ang galawan sa online world, kaya kailangan din nang mabilis at matinong aksyon para mapangalagaan ang pamilya at kinabukasan ng kabataan,” Hernandez said in a recent Facebook post.
Last July 2, Hernandez filed before the House of Representatives a yet-unnumbered House Bill seeking to prohibit online gambling and casino platform advertisements in the Philippines.
The proposed law strictly prohibits any kind of promotion, sponsorship, or digital advertising enticing the public, especially the youth, to join online gambling platform.
“Layunin nito na ipagbawal ang mga patalastas o advertisement ng online gambling at casino platforms, at protektahan lalo na ang mga kabataan mula sa madaling access sa mga ganitong uri ng sugal,” the solon pointed out.
Growing calls
Hernandez’s bill comes amid growing calls from concerned sectors for the national government to ban or at least strictly regulate digital gambling advertisements and promotions.
Recently, Nicasio Conti, a former commissioner of the Presidential Anti-Graft Commission (PAGC), sounded the alarm on what he called “aggressive marketing strategies” by online gambling platforms.
The fact that gambling ads are now found not only on newspapers, radio and television but also on billboards and even on the Internet and social media platforms has had Conti fearing that this trend will “normalize” addictive behaviors, particularly among financially vulnerable people.
“It is available 24/7, targets the most financially at-risk, and is being disguised as entertainment,” he was quoted as saying by media.
The endorsements of celebrities and online influencers in online gambling advertisements has also made it popular, according to University of the Philippines (UP) Diliman assistant professor Hannah Nario-Lopez.
Nario-Lopez was quoted by ABS-CBN News as saying that such endorsements enforce the notion that online gambling is all “fun and games.”
"Pero alam naman natin ang sugal ay hindi ganon ka-simpleng laro dahil kapag ito ay sumobra…hindi porque nagiging habit natin siya at maraming gumagawa ay tama siya. Nagiging mali ito kapag nagiging addiction ito,” he added.
Aside from the proliferation of advertisements promoting online gambling, Conti also pointed out that the use of e-wallets, online banking and other digital financial platforms for gambling transactions increased the risk of money laundering and other financial crimes.
“Gambling can no longer be treated as a private vice – it is a public issue with far-reaching consequences on mental health, poverty, and corruption,” he said.
Other legislation
A bill has already been filed in Congress by five other representatives which aims to prohibit e-wallet platforms from redirecting their users to online gambling platforms.
Aside from this, House Bill No. 721 aims to prohibit the distribution of information online on the placing, receiving, or transmitting of a bet or wager through any online gambling website, platform, or application; hosting online gambling advertisements within their applications or user interfaces; and and promotion of gambling activities online to the general public.
“Alongside financial inclusion and the ease of transactions, a troubling social and cultural trend has emerged: e-wallets have become gateways to gambling by providing direct access to digital casinos and sports betting platforms,” Representatives Jonathan Keith Flores, Jose Manuel Alba, Laarni Roque, Audrey Zubiri, and Arlyn Ayon said in their explanatory note.
Meanwhile, Senator Sherwin Gatchalian has also filed a bill that not only prohibits e-wallet platforms from advertising online gambling sites but also raise the minimum top-up amount for gambling.
Gatchalian has pointed out that some online platforms accept bets as low as P20, which makes it very attractive for low-income earners.
The measure further raises the minimum age requirement for online gambling from 18 to 21 years old, as well as prohibiting advertisements for online gambling within a 200-meter radius of schools and places of worship.
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