On July 17, 2024, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) opposed the Senate bill aimed at banning online gambling, citing reasons Yes this can result in significant revenue losses. During a recent Senate hearing, PAGCOR President and CEO Alejandro Tengco noted the financial impact of such a ban and emphasized that regulation is more important than banning.
Tengco explained that banning online gambling could result in a P40 billion revenue loss for PAGCOR. He highlighted the organization’s success in generating significant revenue from online gambling, raking in P17.5 billion in the first half of 2024 alone. Tengco expressed confidence that PAGCOR could generate up to P42 billion in annual revenue from online gaming license holders if unregistered companies are included.
"If this proposed law is passed, in these difficult times that everyone is facing today, I believe that if we abandon this money, P40 billion is a lot of money,” Tengco said in a report released by GMA Network on July 16. “I am very confident that PAGCOR will have revenue of P38 to approximately P42 billion from online gaming licensees alone.”
Tengco advocates regulation and strict monitoring of online gambling, rather than an outright ban. He believes that effective regulation can not only curb illegal activities but also ensure that the government benefits from the substantial tax revenue collected by the online gaming industry.
Tengco said: "It is not prohibited...the gray market for online gambling is very large, and according to our estimates, it is about 200 to 250 billion pesos. . If we don’t regulate it, who’s pocket will this money go to? Not the government, not even a penny.”
He added: "I believe that if all these Internet companies are properly regulated, PAGCOR will collect a lot of taxes, These tax dollars go back to our fellow citizens and our country.”
Despite PAGCOR’s stance, Senate Bills 63 and 63, respectively, proposed by Senator Alan Peter Cayetano and Senator Joel Villanueva, respectively Bill 1281 seeks to "prohibit online gambling activities and the placing or placing of bets or wagers over the Internet or any form of online gambling activity."
Lawmakers such as Senator Sherwin Gatchalian have expressed concerns about addiction and other social problems that online gambling may cause. Gatchalian stressed that individuals can easily open online gaming accounts using fake names and ages, stressing the need for strict monitoring.
Gatchalian said: "Indeed, this should be strictly monitored because we have just seen how easy it is to open an online gambling account. .You can give a fake name, a fake age. So far, all we have seen is addiction...the scariest thing is that our law enforcement agencies can become addicted to online gambling."
