The Philippine parliament has actively started to promote a complete ban on online gambling due to worries of its impact on the population.

Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri initiated a Senate Bill (SB) No. 142, also known as Anti-Online Gambling Act of 2025. Its main aim is to create a ban on all forms of online gambling, including bookmaker betting and online slot machines. 

If it is adopted, communication providers and payment systems will be forced to block access to such sites within 72 hours from the moment they are identified. There’s a similar bill, HB 1876, that has already been presented and submitted to the House of Representatives. Its authors consider online gambling a “social virus” and  see it as a threat to Filipino society.

However, PAGCOR (Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation) and the Ministry of Finance do not fully support the initiative. According to the PAGCOR report in 2024, revenues from licensed online gambling reached a record of ₱374 billion. The corporation insists that this new law will make the situation worse — it can lead to an increase in illegal operators and a drop in tax revenues. 

As of today, the initiative hasn’t been accepted yet: both houses of parliament are waiting for public hearings, and the government is looking for a compromise between social risks and economic benefits.

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