Online betting via e-wallets skirts gambling ban - DICT

Metro Manila, Philippines - Online gambling has found a loophole in the e-wallet ban through bets on peer-to-peer transactions, the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) said on Wednesday, Aug. 27.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) had ordered e-wallet companies to unlink gambling apps in their platforms due to the negative impact such as addiction.

The DICT told a House committee on human rights discussion that transactions through individual accounts became an alternative.

“‘Yung pagbayad din po sa kanila… these are individual accounts. Sabihin na natin kung sa GCash man ‘yan, that is peer-to-peer na po na transaction. Hindi naman po pinapayagan ni GCash na may e-sabong platform doon sa kanilang payment platform,” DICT Cybercrime Investigation Office Director Rojun Hosillos said.

[Translation: The payments for their winnings, these are through individual accounts. Let’s say GCash, it happens through peer-to-peer transactions because GCash already prohibited e-sabong platform in the app.]

Hosillos said most e-wallet companies have complied with the BSP order.

The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation earlier said online gambling transactions dropped by half following the order.

E-sabong hidden

Meanwhile, the DICT also said online cockfighting or e-sabong platforms still exist in unrelated websites or using a different name.

“‘Yung iba po kasi ang pangalan nila, hindi e-sabongxxx.com. Minsan pinapangalanan nila na candy dot something. So, minsan magbabago sila ng pangalan. ‘Di namin alam kung e-sabong siya,” DICT Secretary Henry Aguda said.

[Translation: Other platforms do not use e-sabong on their website link. Sometimes they name it after a candy. So, sometimes they change their names. We are not aware if it is an e-sabong website.]

“‘Yung iba kasi nagtatago sa legitimate na – example, akala mo nagbebenta siya ng sapatos. ‘Yun pala nakasingit du’n pagsusugal,” he added.

[Translation: Others even hide in a legitimate platform. For example, you would think a site sells shoes. But in between, there is something about gambling.]

The DICT said once a website is reported, they could easily take it down. However, dealing with other platforms that operate overseas is another matter.

President Rodrigo Duterte banned online cockfighting in 2022.