The head of the Philippines’ gaming regulator says that online gaming transactions dropped by up to 50 percent since the central bank ordered e-wallets to remove links to gambling sites.
That’s according to statements from the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR), Alejandro H. Tengco, during a House committee hearing on Wednesday, as cited by local media the Inquirer.
Tengco highlighted that the drop in transactions has also been accompanied by a rise in illegal gaming platforms.
On August 14th, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) issued the directive to e-wallet operators. This includes banks’ payment apps and websites.
PAGCOR’s Chairman told politicians that he could “assure” that the licensed entities under its jurisdiction “followed the BSP directive”, but lamented that “it’s really hard to go after” illegal sites.
He stated that 60 percent of online gaming industry operators are illegal, noting that “they operate in countries like Russia, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Cambodia”.
Tengo noted the higher bonuses being offered by the illegal operators to encourage repeat behavior, noting that some 12,000 illegal gaming sites are in operation, compared to 77 licensed sites under PAGCOR.
“Everything we hear about kids who are addicted, I can assure you that (the illegal unregulated sites) are the cause of this problem now”.
He also highlighted that PAGCOR does not have the direct power to shut down illegal operators, can simply identify them and “hopefully the law enforcement agencies can move to shut them down”.
However, the official did indicate that minimum bet and deposit requirements for digital platforms are being considered, to discourage excessive gambling.
Despite the changes, Tengco is still expecting PAGCOR to generate some PHP116.65 billion ($2.04 billion) in revenue this year, with up to PHP65 billion ($1.14 billion) coming from the online gaming sector.
