ONLINE GAMING VERSUS ONLINE GAMBLING

ONLINE GAMING VERSUS ONLINE GAMBLING

In my book, I make a distinction that not everyone agrees with: I define gaming as a game of chance, and gambling as a game of skill. That might sound counterintuitive but hear me out.

Take the lottery, for example. Many people call it gambling, but I don’t. Why? Because there is no skill involved in picking random numbers and buying a lotto ticket. The same goes for bingo. All one needs to do is buy a bingo card. If you win, it is purely because of chance, not because of any skill you exercised. That is why, in my mind, both lotto and bingo are games of chance—hence, gaming—but not gambling.

Still, I am firm in saying that even if no skill is required in lotto and bingo, there must be strict age verification. The minimum age for lotto is 18, while for bingo there seems to be no minimum at all. That, to me, is already a problem. And if we are now talking about online lotto and online bingo, then the risks are magnified. Children with access to mobile phones could easily find their way into these games if there are no safeguards. The technology to prevent this already exists--multi-factor authentication and identity checks can easily block minors from playing. So why are we not applying it more widely?

Some may wonder why I am bothering to write about what seems like a trivial topic. The reason is simple: this issue might affect the entire business of e-commerce and online payments in the Philippines. Service providers like GCash and PayMaya are not gambling operators; they are simply payment platforms. If their platforms are used for gambling-related transactions, that does not make them gambling sites. Yet, because of regulatory concerns, both GCash and PayMaya have chosen to block gambling-related payments. That is their decision, of course, but I worry that small setbacks like these could dampen the momentum of e-commerce growth in our country.

The real issue is not whether payments can pass through GCash or PayMaya. The real issue is whether the government has the will and the means to regulate online gambling properly. And here is where PAGCOR comes in.

Under Republic Act No. 9487, PAGCOR has the authority to regulate and license all forms of gambling in the Philippines, including online casinos, e-games, and sports betting. In theory, only platforms licensed by PAGCOR are legal. In practice, however, foreign online gambling platforms are raking in billions from Filipino players, tax-free.

The numbers are staggering. In 2022, Filipinos spent around ₱8 billion on foreign online gambling. By 2023, it had ballooned to ₱33 billion. In 2024, it exploded to ₱135 billion. And in just the first half of 2025, it already hit ₱106 billion, projected to exceed ₱200 billion by year’s end. That is a massive outflow of money, money that could have been taxed and used for public services but is instead enriching operators abroad.

And who are spending this money? Not wealthy high rollers in casinos, but ordinary Filipinos—students, wage earners, and low-income families—many of them lured into the promise of easy winnings.

So, what should be done? In my view, the government should focus not only on taxation but also on technology. Strict multifactor authentication should be mandatory for all online platforms offering age-restricted products or services—not just gambling, but also alcohol, adult content, and other sensitive areas. POGOs, for example, would not have been such a mess if the government had insisted on tighter data security and identity verification to ensure only real, authorized foreigners could bet.

I do not believe that banning online gambling outright will work. Whether the government likes it or not, Filipinos will continue betting online. If we cannot stop the practice, then at the very least, let us regulate it properly, tax it effectively, and protect minors from it completely.

Because if we do nothing, we lose on all fronts: families lose savings, minors are exposed to vices too early, the government loses revenue, and e-commerce platforms lose credibility.

So here is my challenge to policymakers: instead of demonizing online payments or treating e-wallets as scapegoats, why not work with them? Payment platforms could be allies in enforcing age verification, identity checks, and transaction monitoring. Done right, this could protect minors, protect the economy, and protect the integrity of our financial system.

To conclude: online gaming or gambling—whatever you call it—is here to stay. The real question is whether we let it undermine our society, or whether we take control of it with the right mix of regulation, technology, and accountability.

Ramon Ike V. Seneres, www.facebook.com/ike.seneres
iseneres@yahoo.com, senseneres.blogspot.com

10-30-2025