Philippine President Marcos recently stated that online gambling is severely impacting social and family relationships, and the government is studying a stricter regulatory system, which will include a new scheme covering the supervision and taxation of legal platforms.
As one of the response measures, the Philippine gaming regulatory agency PAGCOR has launched a "family member account blocking mechanism," allowing family members to report relatives addicted to gambling. By submitting identification documents, photos, and proof of family relationship, they can apply to block their accounts on legal gambling platforms. The official stated that this move aims to "save families and curb gambling addiction."
However, this mechanism only applies to regular platforms authorized by PAGCOR, with illegal gambling still being a key focus for crackdown. According to the Presidential Office, the Department of Information and Communications Technology and PAGCOR have jointly blocked over 7,000 illegal gambling websites, and the cleanup operation is ongoing.
This policy has sparked heated discussions in society, with many families expressing support, believing it provides new means to prevent gambling addiction. However, some opinions point out that it is necessary to simultaneously intensify efforts to crack down on illegal sites to fundamentally curb the spread of online gambling problems.
