Government restrictions on e-wallet transactions for online gambling have caused a sharp decline in the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation's (PAGCOR) revenues, the agency confirmed during a House hearing this week.
According to reports, PAGCOR's monthly income dropped from PHP 5.7bn in May to PHP 2.9bn in September, following the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas' order requiring e-wallets such as GCash and Maya to remove links and icons leading to gambling sites. The directive, issued on 14 August, came amid discussions in Congress and the Senate over whether to impose tighter regulations or an outright ban on online gambling.
Assistant Vice President Jessa Mariz Fernandez told lawmakers that PAGCOR's earlier forecast of PHP 60bn in gross gaming revenue by end-2025 would now likely be missed. She explained that 60% of PAGCOR's revenue comes from online gaming, adding that player participation also declined after a PHP 500 minimum deposit rule was introduced.
Lawmakers were told that while PAGCOR remains a key source of funding for public programmes, the Department of Economy, Planning and Development (DEPDev) considers iGaming's economic contribution marginal, accounting for only 0.37% of national GDP.
A 93.8% success rate of the website blocking action is attributed to an AI-powered monitoring system developed with the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center.
The debate over a total ban continues, with some legislators citing social harm and others warning of job losses and a rise in underground betting. House Committee Chair Antonio Ferrer said a technical working group would be formed before year-end to consolidate reform proposals.
Since September 2022, 12,562 of 13,399 illicit sites have been blocked by the National Telecommunications Commission
