Filipino congressman eyes ban of online gambling

Congressman Taguig-Pateros Rep. Ricardo S. Cruz, Jr. has filed a bill that seeks to outlaw online gambling in the Philippines.

Under the measure, anyone who places a bet on the internet could be jailed for as long as six months or fined as much as P500,000.

From a BMDC article:

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“While it has been a way for the government to generate income, this should not come at the cost of endangering our people, let alone minors, with activities that bring about addictive behavior as well as an increase of mental health and financial problems, vices and crime rates,” Taguig-Pateros Rep. Ricardo S. Cruz, Jr. said in the explanatory note of House Bill 7689.

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A counterpart measure in the Senate is pending at the committee level.

The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp., which regulates online gambling and gaming operations, has said it earns about P9 million a day from legal gambling companies.

Senator Sherwin T. Gatchalian last month urged local governments to ban Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs) to protect them from crimes.

He said some local governments that are POGO hubs have begun to doubt the benefits of these mostly Chinese online gambling operators on their economy. These include the cities of Manila, Pasay and Parañaque, he added.

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Read more here: https://www.bworldonline.com/the-nat...line-gambling/

Asia's largest bookmakers are based in the Philippines. Turnover is probably much higher than the largest European/American brands.

The Philippines is a bookies basin.
On the one hand, this seems like a threat. On the other hand, there are large Asian bookies who are only headquartered there and don't even have a POGO license, so theoretically they can move their headquarters if there are problems.

There may be a Chinese lobby in this because these bookmakers largely serve Chinese players.