In the Philippines, numerous influencers continue to actively promote illegal gambling, yet the authorities are now close to curbing such activity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Centre (CICC) <\/strong>under the Department of Information and Communications Technology<\/strong> has compiled a list of 30 influencers who, according to its data, are involved in promoting illegal online gambling platforms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This list was handed over to the Philippine National Police Anti-Cybercrime Group (PNP-ACG) <\/strong>for further investigation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to CICC\u2019s Chief Undersecretary Renato Paraiso<\/strong>, the most popular of these influencers have audiences ranging from 1.1 to 9.2 million followers. He stated that they could face charges for violating the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012, Presidential Decree No. 1602, which increases penalties for illegal gambling, as well as Article 315 of the Revised Penal Code on fraud.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The investigation into illegal gambling promotions was conducted by CICC with the support of Digital Pinoy<\/strong>, a civil society partner of the agency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As a result of their joint efforts last month, over 1,600 unlicensed gambling websites were identified, many of which were mirror sites designed to bypass regulatory blocks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Against this backdrop, the country\u2019s gambling regulator PAGCOR<\/strong> allocated PHP 50 million ($849,000) to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) <\/strong>to strengthen efforts against the illegal market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIllegal gambling operators undermine the law, exploit citizens, and put our communities at risk,\u201d emphasized PAGCOR Chair and CEO Alejandro Tengco.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n While the Philippine Senate continues to consider a full ban on online gaming, Tengco has repeatedly warned that such a move would only strengthen the black market and \u201cdeprive the government of critically needed revenue.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n He also highlighted the need for strict regulation to reduce player engagement and redirect activity away from unlicensed platforms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tengco noted that illegal sites not only deprive the economy of significant revenue but also increase risks for Filipino players. Moreover, he stressed: \u201cEvery peso earned by PAGCOR is returned to the people through schools, healthcare facilities, disaster response programs, and other community projects.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the first nine months of the year, PAGCOR contributed PHP 54.26 billion ($920 million) to national development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On November 17, PAGCOR also announced PHP 32.85 million ($558,000) in assistance to families affected by Typhoon Tino and Super Typhoon Uwan, which struck large regions of the country over the past two weeks, resulting in nearly 300 fatalities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n