In the increasingly vocal political arena of "banning gambling," Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has not explicitly expressed support for the ban. The presidential palace emphasized on the same day that "the decision to ban or not must undergo a comprehensive assessment," believing that the impact of online gambling, especially offshore gambling (POGO), cannot be hastily asserted.
Some legislators criticized that Marcos deliberately avoided the issue of online gambling in his State of the Nation Address, which led to public questioning of his ambiguous stance. In response, presidential spokesperson Castro stated that the government's current priority is to identify the core issues of online gambling, whether it stems from the licensed platforms themselves, technical design, or illegal unlicensed gambling.
She pointed out: "We should not ban for the sake of banning. Although the gambling industry is chaotic, it also provides substantial fiscal revenue and employment support. Would a hasty ban affect educational subsidies, local development, and people's livelihood?" Data shows that in 2024, the total revenue of gambling in the Philippines will reach 410 billion pesos, with electronic gambling and electronic bingo contributing 154.4 billion, a 165% increase from last year.
In fact, the chaos surrounding online gambling and POGO is not just a simple matter of fiscal accounts. The industry heavily relies on gambling funds from China, backed by a complex underground financial system and transnational money laundering chains. Hundreds of thousands of people depend on it for employment, and it also drives the urban real estate market. However, POGO is also highly associated with crimes such as telecommunications fraud, kidnapping, bribery, and black prisons, becoming a focal point of social division in the Philippines.
"The louder the calls for a ban, the slower the actual implementation," has become a reality in the Philippines. Although the legislative body loudly calls for action, PAGCOR and the Advertising Standards Authority have initiated a joint review, and DICT has ordered the blocking of nearly 7000 illegal websites, but legal and "gray legal" platforms still operate as usual.
The reason is: banning means a significant loss of tax revenue and investment, which could also trigger a wave of unemployment and even affect relations with Chinese capital; not banning continues to allow crimes, damaging the government's reputation. More complexly, there are connections between political figures and gambling operators, and the police system is also accused of taking black money for stability.
Marcos's strategy is becoming more apparent: verbally combat illegal POGO while maintaining the status quo, avoiding touching vested interest groups, and continuing to obtain fiscal support from "legal gambling." He is trying to find a gray area between international image and domestic finance—fighting corruption while continuously milking.
In this seemingly policy dispute, which is actually a power and money struggle, online gambling is no longer just a gambling issue but has become a gray mirror reflecting the governance dilemma of the Philippines. Between banning and not banning lies an institutional predicament and a real gamble.
