A specter is haunting Philippine politics today: the specter of gambling, which is being linked to youth addiction, unethical use of public funds, money laundering, kidnapping, and murder.
Aside from the intense flooding across the country and the ongoing impeachment case against Vice President Sara Duterte, the problems associated with gambling have dominated the news in the past two months. For example, the Senate is considering a ban on online gambling, the influential Catholic Church has renewed its call against all forms of gambling, and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. spoke about the issue of missing cockfighting enthusiasts in his July 28 state of the nation address.
Gambling has long been closely connected to the country’s politics. Numerous politicians have been accused of being protectors of jueteng, an illegal numbers game similar to small-town lottery. In fact, former President Joseph Estrada was impeached in 2000 because of an allegation that he was receiving jueteng money.
Meanwhile, Philippine offshore gaming operators, or POGOs, proliferated a decade ago, catering mainly to Chinese gamblers. These POGO hubs eventually became notorious for their link with organized crime suspected of being behind money laundering and human trafficking operations. Local politicians and some officials of the previous Rodrigo Duterte administration were implicated in several dubious POGO companies. Last year, the Marcos government cited national security and public order when it announced a ban on all POGOs in the country.
Another popular but controversial gambling operation is online cockfighting. In 2021, around 34 cockfighting enthusiasts accused of game fixing disappeared. Two months ago, a whistleblower came forward and named several individuals, including police officers, as masterminding the abduction and killing of the disappeared cockfighters. Marcos has vowed to deliver justice and investigate the link of some suspects in the Duterte administration’s bloody anti-drug campaign.
The issue of missing cockfighters has ignited a wider debate on the ill effects of gambling, especially the surge of online gambling among young people. Senator Joel Villanueva described online gambling as “a growing menace that threatens the very fabric of our society.” He cited a 2023 survey that showed that 66 percent of young Filipinos are involved in online gambling. He bemoaned that “the lure of instant wealth has already led many down a path of addiction, debt, and despair.”
Some senators are proposing stricter regulations, while others want an outright ban on online gambling apps. There is also a plan to prohibit government officials from engaging in online gambling activities. The Department of Finance is studying the viability of imposing higher taxes to prevent users from being addicted to gambling. Authorities have also announced the delinking of digital or e-wallets from gambling apps to make it more difficult for minors and ordinary internet users to transfer their money into gambling transactions.
President Marcos acknowledged the problem and assured stakeholders that they would be consulted about the various recommendations on how to deal with online gambling. But he is concerned that banning online gambling will only drive it underground. “The problem is not online gambling,” he said. “The problem(s) are the social effects on our children and those who are addicted to gambling,” he added.
But Cardinal Pablo Virgilio David, president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, rejects the idea that there’s something to be gained from what he calls having a “casino in everyone’s pocket.” He accuses the government of abetting gambling addiction. “When the government acts as promoter, regulator, and beneficiary of gambling revenues, it becomes complicit in the very harm it claims to guard against,” he wrote on his Facebook page.
It is unlikely that online gambling will be totally banned by a government desperate for revenues. This means gambling money will continue to affect governance in the same way jueteng and POGOs influenced politics in the past. The moral arguments against gambling are compelling, and people really need to channel their energies and resources into more productive endeavors. The challenge for the government is to rally people behind effective and long-term nation-building initiatives by creating jobs, supporting industries, offering livelihood opportunities, and democratizing political participation.