The Philippine financial regulatory authorities recently discovered significant loopholes in the supervision of online gambling funds. Although the central bank had requested last month that e-wallet service providers remove direct links to gambling platforms, the latest information disclosed at the Senate hearing shows that the amount of gambling funds transferred through e-wallets can still reach up to 500,000 pesos (about 62,000 yuan), which is ten times the limit of ordinary online bank transfers.
Senator Risa Hontiveros pointed out at the recent hearing that although mainstream e-wallets such as GCash and Maya have removed the explicit links to gambling platforms as required, their core deposit and withdrawal functions have not been restricted. This means that users can still transfer large amounts of funds to gambling platforms through e-wallets, with a single transaction reaching up to 500,000 pesos, equivalent to nearly two years of total income for the ordinary working class in the Philippines.
In stark contrast, the transfer limit set by the ordinary online banking system in the Philippines is 50,000 pesos, and transactions exceeding this limit will automatically be intercepted by the system. This discrepancy in regulatory standards has raised questions among legislators about the effectiveness of fund supervision.
Facing the senator's inquiry, the Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of the Philippines, Mamerto Tang, explained that the central bank's requirement was limited to removing gambling links within the application, but the basic payment services of e-wallets still need to operate normally. The central bank believes that licensed gambling operators are legal entities, and their payment needs should be considered legitimate business activities.
Representatives of e-wallet service providers stated at the hearing that they would fully comply with regulatory requirements. GCash's Chief Legal Advisor, Gilbert Escoto, said: "We will strictly implement the government's regulations"; Maya's Regulatory Affairs Officer, Christopher Lada, also promised: "We will comply with all regulatory directives."
Jessa Fernandez, Vice President of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR), revealed that e-wallets are currently the main funding channel for online gambling. PAGCOR is discussing alternative solutions with the central bank, aiming to establish a more secure and controllable payment system.
Industry observers point out that fund flow supervision is the core link in online gambling management. If the deposit and withdrawal channels cannot be effectively controlled, the effectiveness of other regulatory measures will be greatly reduced. As the Senate officially puts this issue on the agenda, the Philippine online gambling regulatory system is expected to undergo significant adjustments.
This hearing reflects the challenges faced by the Philippine government in the field of gambling regulation. How to effectively curb illegal fund flows while promoting the development of legal businesses will become a key consideration in future policy-making.
