“WAG KANYA-KANYA!”: Hontiveros tells gov’t agencies to unify efforts vs online sugal

EASY MONEY. An online gambling advertisement is prominently displayed along EDSA in Quezon City on Tuesday (July 8, 2025). Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri called online gambling the new face of addiction and proposed a total ban, while outgoing Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines president Pablo Virgilio David of the Diocese of Kalookan said celebrities endorsing gambling platforms are “prostituting themselves for a fee.” (PNA photo by Joan Bondoc)

By Office of Senator Risa Hontiveros

Senator Risa Hontiveros appealed today to government agencies, especially PAGCOR and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, to act as one in their efforts to regulate online gambling amid rising reports of people getting addicted to gambling.

“Dapat hindi nagkakanya-kanya ang mga regulatory agencies natin. Ngayong dumadami ang nalululong sa online sugal, mas kinakailangan nilang makipagtulungan sa isa’t isa para mas mahigpitan ang access sa online gambling,” Hontiveros said in her opening statement during the Senate hearing on online gambling.

Hontiveros’ Kontra E-Sugal Bill is one of the many measures being deliberated upon by the Senate Committee on Games and Amusement which is holding a hearing today on the rise of online gambling addiction.

“Inaasahan kong mabibigyan din nila ng linaw kung sino nga ba talaga ang dapat namumulis sa mga online sugal na naka-link sa e-wallets at super apps.

Kaya nga kailangan natin ng batas para masiguradong coordinated at whole-of-government ang tugon sa online sugal, para hindi na magkanya-kanya ang bawat ahensya,” Hontiveros said in her opening statement during the hearing.

Still, Hontiveros stressed that there must be a law strictly regulating online gambling to ensure that these policies have more permanence, especially in creating a barrier between users and online gambling platforms.

“We cannot rely on mere administrative policies that may change with the winds of public opinion. Kailangan po natin ng komprehensibong batas na tutugon sa lahat ng aspeto ng komplikadong isyu na ito,” she said.

Hontiveros added, “As it is, so many Filipinos still slip through the policy gaps in online gambling regulations. Hindi sapat ang self-regulation at kahit ang mga paghihigpit ng mga regulatory bodies. Kailangang disiplinahin ng isang bagong batas ang online sugal.”

She again lamented the ease of access to online gambling platforms through wallets and super apps, which she aims to ban in her Kontra E-Sugal Bill.

“Dahil sa e-wallets at super apps, naging portable tuloy ang pagka-casino dahil sa mga kasalukuyang regulasyon. Unli-sugal. Walang bantay. At wala ring awa. Isang pindot lang, mauubos na ang kinita mo sa buong buwan o mababaon ka pa sa utang. It is clear we need strong, active limitations and controls enacted into law,” Hontiveros said.