Philippine Senator Submits New Bill to Ban Online Gambling

The Philippines has been in the flurry of gambling re-regulation, but with no specific measures and a ton of speculation. The latest move comes from Senator Christopher Go, who has proposed a complete ban on online gambling through Senate Bill 686, referred locally as the Anti-Online Gambling Act 2025.

Senator Calls for Ban on Online Gambling in 2025

The idea is to criminalize all Internet gambling and impose strict fines on offenders, with up to six months and around $10,000 in penalties. The measure is designed to target individuals, i.e., people who engage in the activity.

In other words, Senator Go wants anyone who places a wager to face stiff penalties. Another part of his proposal applies to anyone who may be hosting gambling, proposing up to five years of prison time for offenders, along with the same fine of around $10,000.  

Senator Go believes that these measures are necessary because the social costs associated with gambling have been growing exponentially.

PAGCOR, the country’s regulator, has recently blocked physical billboard advertisements and ads in public spaces and has moved rapidly to propose a new Memorandum of Understanding with the local media authority to now obligate gambling promoters to submit their materials for pre-screening.

At the same time, Senator Go is not the only one considering a change to the regulation. The acting government is also debating several measures that are meant to make companies more accountable and bring them into the light.

One is to levy all gambling companies with a 10% extra tax, which could raise the equivalent of roughly $350 million.

Competing Bills Want to Regulate Gambling, Just Not Sure How

The other measure that is being debated is to force online gambling companies to list on the local stock exchange, and thus make them more transparent, the logic goes.

The government is also already reviewing another ban that seeks to suspend online gambling. Along with that, there have been separate proposals for eliminating e-wallets from the available payment methods that players can use to access gambling products, as well as introducing tighter rules on advertising.

Senator Go’s proposal is just the latest in what is seemingly a pell-mell of competing pitches with no clear winner set to emerge.