DigiPlus says total online gambling ban risks thousands of jobs

DigiPlus Interactive Corporation—the company behind popular online games BingoPlus, ArenaPlus, and GameZone— on Wednesday reiterated its appeal to lawmakers to reconsider plans to legislate a total ban on online gambling, warning of massive job losses across the industry.

In a statement, DigiPlus chairman Eusebio Tanco said the digital entertainment company is “open to evolving and improving wherever needed.”

“If there are new standards to meet, or better ways to protect players, we will act swiftly and responsibly. But please, do not condemn an industry, and the 50,000 Filipino families who rely on it, without hearing the facts first,” Tanco said.

Lawmakers have proposed a ban on online gambling, arguing that tighter industry regulations as proposed by some of their other colleagues would not be enough.

The Department of Health said online gambling is a health issue. President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. said he will be studying the issue, including online gambling's possible effects on Filipinos' health and the economy.

The DigiPlus chairman said the consequences of a total ban on online gambling “go far beyond corporate risk.”

“More than 3,000 direct DigiPlus employees, and an estimated 50,000 jobs across the online gaming industry’s nationwide network, including those in information technology, cybersecurity, software development, as well as multimedia artists, call center agents, security personnel, and housekeeping staff are now at risk,” he said.

He added that banning licensed operators will not make online gaming go away, repeating his earlier assertion that a ban “will only drive players toward illegal, unregulated sites with no safeguards.”

Tanco expressed concern that responsible and law-abiding operators are “being swept into a tide of suspicion meant to catch those who have never complied with regulation in the first place.”

The DigiPlus chairman said the company “has always done its best to align its operations with regulatory expectations from PAGCOR and other relevant government agencies.”

“Tell us what more we must do. And we will do it without hesitation. Just grant us the fairness owed to any lawful Filipino enterprise. We stand licensed, audited, and transparent, yet we are made to answer for the crimes of illegal operators who respect neither law nor livelihood,” Tanco said.

“We are appealing to the government: Let us approach this rationally. If we study the issue with clear eyes, we will see that the social ills being blamed on online gaming stem from the illegal market. That is where underage gambling happens. That is where financial abuse thrives. Target that, and the harm disappears,” he said.

Tanco said that the company and the licensed gaming operators “are not asking for special treatment,” but are “simply asking to be judged by our actions, not by perception, nor by association with those who break the law.”

“Regulation works best when it uplifts what is working, not when it dismantles it,” he said. — Ted Cordero/BM, GMA Integrated News