Marcos warns of risks of total online gambling ban, involves church in talks

Metro Manila, Philippines – President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. cautioned that a total ban on online gambling could make it more difficult to regulate, potentially worsening the issues the government seeks to address.

“The first effect of banning it fully is to put it underground and then we have no control,” he warned in a podcast interview that aired Thursday, Aug. 8. While some lawmakers have filed bills seeking to prohibit all forms of online gambling, which advocacy groups have called a “silent epidemic,” Marcos said the government has yet to finalize its position. For now, he believes the real focus should be on minimizing the harm caused to children and those vulnerable to addiction.“The problem is not online gambling. The problems are the social effects on our children and those who are addicted to gambling,” he explained. “Let’s focus on that. How do we stop that?”He said the government plans to bring Catholic bishops into consultations on a proposed crackdown on online gambling, acknowledging growing concerns from religious and parent groups over its social impact, especially on the youth.Marcos revealed that his administration is organizing a multi-sectoral conference to shape the national policy on online gambling. He emphasized the need to include voices from the Church, particularly the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), as well as parents, regulators, and other stakeholders.“We’ve heard a lot from the CBCP. So, let’s include them—the priests, the bishops,” the president said. “The parents, of course, are stakeholders here because the victimized demographic are the youth.”The president said his administration would gather concerns from all involved sectors before coming up with a comprehensive plan.Asked to differentiate online gambling from the Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs), which were shut down last year due to criminal activity, Marcos said the POGO controversy escalated because it became linked with human trafficking, credit card fraud, and other crimes.“The POGO itself was not the problem… But then came human trafficking, credit card scams, and everything else,” he said.