Hontiveros wants e-wallets, super apps to also ‘self-regulate’ vs. online gambling

Senator Risa Hontiveros on Monday expressed hope that e-wallet and super app companies will take steps to self-regulate amid the prevalence of online gambling in the country. 

Hontiveros, who earlier filed a bill seeking to ban online gambling access in e-wallets and super apps, made the remark as three of the country’s largest integrated resort-casino operators said that their online gaming operations comply with laws and regulations. 

“Kung sinasabi ng malalaking mga casino na sumusunod na sila sa mga kasalukuyang regulasyon, okay yun. Ibig sabihin, hindi rin magiging problema kung magdagdag man ng paghihigpit pagdating sa online gambling,” the lady senator said. 

(If big casinos say they are following regulations, that’s well and good. That means there should be no issue if we tighten access to online gambling.) 

Despite this, she questioned why e-wallet and super app companies are seemingly silent regarding claims that have made online gambling easier to access. 

“Sa dami ng reklamo na napadali ng e-wallets at super apps ang online gambling, bakit tila tahimik ang mga kumpanyang ito? Umaasa akong magkakaroon rin sila ng sarili nilang regulasyon dahil hindi biro ang mga buhay na nasira at pwedeng masira dahil sa online gambling,” Hontiveros said.

(With so many complaints pointing to how phones have made online gambling too easy to access, why are e-wallet and super app companies silent? I hope that they would also take steps to self-regulate. Too many lives have been ruined and could be ruined by online gambling. Too many families have already been hurt.) 

“Napakaraming nagme-message sa opisina namin sa Senado, dahil sa dami na ng nalululong, nalulubog sa utang, at namamatay dahil sa bisyo na ito. Sa ganitong sitwasyon, hindi na sapat ang pagsunod lamang sa batas. Kailangan din nating makiisa,” she added. 

(My office in the Senate has received numerous messages from people desperate for help. These are reports of loved ones who have become addicted, buried in debt, and who’ve taken their own lives due to this vice. In this situation, it’s not enough that we follow the law. We also need to care. We need to act together.)

‘Enablers of debt’ 

Meanwhile, Senator JV Ejercito, who also filed a resolution seeking for the regulation of online gambling and lending in the country, said that e-wallet companies have become a way for Filipinos to go into debt. 

“Ang e-wallet ay ginawa para padaliin ang buhay ng mga Pilipino, hindi para maging enablers ng sugal at utang—dalawang bagay na sumisira sa mga pamilya at kinabukasan. Hindi dapat pinapayagan na gatasan pa ang kahinaan ng ilan nating kababayan,” Ejercito said. 

(E-wallets were created to make the lives of Filipinos easier, not to be enablers of gambling and debt—two things that destroy families and the future. It should not be allowed to take advantage of the weakness of some of our countrymen.) 

“Once a financial tool begins enabling addiction, it is the government’s duty to intervene. To strictly regulate and stop them from further fueling this gambling culture,” he continued. 

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), for its part, is now looking to have payment service providers (PSPs) create a facility that would allow users to create a separate online gambling transaction account (OGTA), which will then be placed under stricter rules in a bid to protect clients from risks associated with the industry.

Under a draft circular released to stakeholders for exposure, the central bank is looking to have players create an OGTA in order to participate in online gambling. With the creation of an OGTA, all lending options in the digital platform will be disabled.

Monumental step 

Senator Sherwin Gatchalian welcomed this move by the BSP, emphasizing that it is a monumental step toward the responsible use of digital services.

“Daily caps, time limits, and biometric verification can help curb the alarming rise of gambling addiction, especially among the youth,” he said.

Like the other senators, Gatchalian has also proposed a measure that would impose strict regulations for online gambling in the country as part of efforts to address the growing gambling addiction especially among the youth. — BM, GMA Integrated News