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when we talk about politicians who were exposed for their crazy gambling habits we tend to talk about corruption but let us talk about hypocrisy

in the philippines, the government is trying to lower the rates of where the filipinos gamble especially in online spaces but what does it say if the very politicians trying to push for fighting against gambling are also the ones exposed for playing? is it not ironic?????

There is a rule that you are not allowed to visit much more to play if you are a government official in the Philippines. This is the reason that they fake their identity, because they will face administrative charges and forfeit all their benefits as a government official.

There are reports that these accused government officials are playing in casinos to launder their money coming from the government. And when you have so much easy money at your disposal, you will not hesitate to gamble it away. These people are heartless government officials and deserve to be in jail.

Because they're hypocrites that want their citizens to suffer. Also, gambling is a huge income source for governments, why would they want to lower the rates of population who gamble? I'm having a hard time believing that they actually care about the well-being and financial status of their average citizen. What isn't ironic in this world? They could even be gambling with government money, and that wouldn't be a surprise either, but as the previous user mentioned, they're using accounts with fake credentials.

It's easy for politician to fake their identity or just put the ID of someone who works for them and play themselves. Most of the time, the local casinos are also involved in providing them service with anonymity, they let them come and sit at a VIP table without the need of any identity proof.
Gambling is also a tool for money laundering in different parts of world. Sometimes there local casinos are owned by the political leaders and their proxies. To make black money white, they make many people lose small amount of money and have some win larger amount but all of those on papers. Just pay the tax and turn black money to white.

Our government is trying to make things harder for normal people. But with these corrupt people, they don't care about the law. It's funny that these politicians are the ones who's caught and seen gambling somewhere that they're trying to hide their identities personally. With many ways to gamble nowadays, I doubt it that no one from them are gambling online. There is a likelihood that many of them are gambling online and all they're doing it is to satisfy themselves and make sure that no one knows them who they are and spending people taxes for gambling and leisures.

It's all about the corrupt system I guess. If they will find a way to continue to make money out of this flood control projects and make billions and then wash it thru gambling, then this is going to be a cycle in the Philippines.

Gambling has been big since we have the POGO issue and then heard about the cockfighters missing and presume death and now the banning of online gambling in your e-wallets but there were still reports that they can still go and play online.

So it's not ironic, politicians are going to benefit from gambling so they won't simply stop it. Or if someone are going to be caught and put to jail, it might be just low level gamblers and I doubt that we will see a government official that will be sentence or even those engineers that are involved in the anomaly of flood control.

That's hypocrisy telling someone to stop doing some and they from their end is doing same. I don't see anything to be ashamed of gamble about especially when there have not been any news about that speaks differently about gamble. The fact that one can control themselves and play gamble disciplinly, there are lots of gambling  strategies and we must pick from the one that best suits us and our time. Knowing when to quit and when to play is a big deal that most people prefer not to talk about but that is actually one of greatest thing that can determin our gambling lifestyle.

That's true in any country where gambling is legal, but the difference in the Philippines is that I haven't heard of any officials actually getting caught due to gambling, let alone losing their position because of it, or it's just people don't report such behaviour. It's the same story with many other good laws, they exist on paper and are supposed to benefit the people, but the real problem is in how poorly they're enforced here

If someone who has grown up and entered parliament is a gambler, the habit won't easily be broken or abandoned. They will return, even if they have developed many ideas or regulations from their previous journey to implement.

I think today's society is also very smart. The government attacks with restrictions, and resistance arises from the public. They will do anything to find historical data on incumbents, whether genuine or just plain rubbish, even those who are calling for the ban but are also the main players behind the scenes. If they find out, it will certainly be a dilemma.

It's kinda they are saying, "let us gamble instead of you ;D"

Well, this is very common in the Philippines. Even let's say it is prohibited for public officials to gamble, but still they are somehow able to play somewhere, you are in the Philippines, hello. There's a lot of ways to bypass these sanctions.

Yes, that is ironic while the government wants to fight against gambling. It is just a waste of time for the government but they must still do that if they want to clean up the politicians from gambling. It will not be easy because the politicians may have a strong backup behind them so the government should really be careful when dealing with the politicians.
Although the government may difficult to track the politicians using online casinos, they can use many ways including asking Internet providers to monitor all of the politicians that they suspect are related to gambling.

We know how crooked politicians can be, and the Philippines is definitely a shameful example of that. I'm a Filipino myself, and I'm not proud to be the one mocking my own country but this isn't just my guilt/fault. It's the guilt of millions of Filipinos who put most of these crooks into power or position tbh.

These politicians wouldn’t mind being labeled that way. As if they actually care. They'll pretending to care when elections are near, suddenly wearing that fragrant scent of beingconcerned for their citizens. It’s nothing new to us, tbh. But it’s the citizens themselves who are naïve enough to elect them. Most elected officials tend to have gambling habits, it’s just not openly publicized, because it would paint them as antagonists.

I’m not really familiar of any cases of United States politicians doing shady things with gambling. I guess why take the chance when you can just copy Nancy Pelosi’s stock trades and win every time. So for me personally I’d rather see politicians gambling than engaging in insider trading, which seem to be a bigger problem.

Nothing new. This is hard, but the PH is home to a lot of hypocrites, whether politicians or fanatics of someone in power. The majority of those in position have stains of corruption. Even if they say they don’t, okay, let’s say they really don’t, but the thing is, they know what’s happening and still do nothing. Civil servants are not allowed to engage in casinos, but there are still some who do. In fact, that’s where they launder money. They don’t even need to go there personally or register online under their names. Just hire someone, and it’s done.

Surely it is ironic, What goes around comes around as the saying goes. Definitely if the government of Filippines are trying to reduce the rate of online gambling or fighting against gambling, it definitely mean that they are also going to be affected because we have Large numbers of rich online Gambler in Filipippines, am quit sure they will also be affected except there is another way they will sort themselves out, without being affected by the law.

Let's not forget that being in politics doesn't change the personality of someone if he's already exposed to gambling earlier. Although I kind of understand what the Philippines government is trying to do by preventing people holding government offices from gambling because gambling brings so much lack of productivity when abused, especially if done in the office environment.

Again, I think they went far with their control practices since it's always better to moderate people's activities while in office environment and allow them live their free lives at the end of the day.

Maybe putting a regulation on how much they can gamble monthly with respect to their earnings could've worked better than stopping them entirely which makes them seek out some illegal means of satisfying their gambling desires.

If politicians are like the Japanese politicians, they'd proceed with their own judgement and that's usually the harakiri.

There is no need for people to beg for them to step down if they have misused the funds of the public. That's how notable they are and have the honor still to themselves if they've been found guilty of being corrupt.

These officials have no chill at all, they've got something to boast for and that's probably why corruption there is rampant.

yea!! this is real hypocrisy at its peak because some politicians make rules against gambling but a lot of them still gamble in secret. take for intance in the Philippines government officials are not allowed to enter casinos, so some of them use fake names to hide. many also use gambling to cover or launder stolen public money. the problem here is not only gambling, but corruption and misuse of power by some individuals in positions of power.. Leaders should set a good example for their citizens because they preach one thing and then do the opposite of what they preach, i think there should be dedicated punishment for government officials who break the law intentionally.

That's their way right from time, bad politicians everywhere any official funds in their disposal is likely used the way it pleases them, they don't care about anybody only for their selfish interests.

If a common person goes contrary to the law it becomes and offense and punishable by the law but if they did they go Scott free because no law we make them pay. However gambling with officials funds by any government officials should be a punishable offense by the law so the rest can learn.

It's an irony & not only happens in the Philippines, a few years ago, our politician was also caught playing slots during a meeting in the parliament building. All levels of society then condemned her for activities during the meeting. Instead of thinking about the community, she gambled, which is strictly prohibited in our country (Indonesia). In fact, it wasn't just her activities that were the problem, but also her status as a stakeholder there.

It happens with the politicians all the time. You can see a politician campaigning against the oil companies but himself driving a v8. Politicians = expert liars. If they want to ban something for some reason, it is almost never because they want your well being. It is most likely because they are getting paid to do so or they have a competing business which will profit massively. For example, if you drive oil companies out of the country, who benefits? Electric vehicles of course. Lithium batteries manufacturers, electricity grid companies etc they all make a killing. They say oil is no good for the environment because we have to dig the ground to get it. They must be thinking lithium grow on trees. Anyway, don’t listen to what politicians say. Study what they do, that’s where the truth lies.

I believe there should be a pointing finger towards the people who are pushing it because we all know there are a lot of people in the government. In the current events, the people highlighted in a topic here in the gambling discussion are from a department called DPWH. They are not responsible for those policies introducing the anti-gambling policies.

Maybe if you could show the people who are pushing the anti-gambling policies, like Ejercito and Zubiri^{[1] (https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1253689)}
. Are there news of them gambling?

What you are trying to say OP is that the impact on the policy that they are trying to do and the integrity that they have. I hope that it's not the case.

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[1] - https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1253689

Well, not all politicians do it, and if they are seen gambling in any way, either online or in a physical casino, they could face administrative sanctions or possibly lose all their benefits and be blacklisted from public service again. That's actually a harsh punishment because there's a good future in public service, where bonuses are mostly given quarterly.
They did that so that no one would ever try to attempt it, and they would be afraid to lose their jobs and probably criminal charges, too.

If a politician gambles with his honestly earned money, it is not corruption. Corruption is when the money is obtained illegally and gambling with corrupt money is no longer corruption. It is the same gamble, but taking into account the gambling with illegally obtained money.

Have there been any politicians who were caught gambling? If so, it certainly looks ironic. About the same as "bees against honey".

The "powers that be" will always have more privileges and opportunities, so even with a total ban on gambling, they will have the opportunity to gamble. Whether it is ironic or sad, but what can you do about it?

Those politicians are nothing short of hypocrites, they don't practice what they preach and I'm not surprised at all, they're all the same everywhere. Politicians that push against gambling like it is something evil will be gambling secretly, same way they will be condemning corruption yet they will steal public funds without remorse. Any country that doesn't outrightly ban gambling should have fair regulations for it because some government officials that makes the rules also gambles. Finally any government officials that are caught for breaking the law in any way should be severely dealt with according to the law.

In law, all politicians are not allowed in any casino or to gamble. BUT

casino is one way to clean a dirty money. I am talking about Money Laundering.

1. A dirty money will be deposited in a casino and you will play.
2. win or lose you will withdraw some amount which is not a clean money.
3. A cheque from the casino will be the final form of the dirty money.

Attempts to ban gambling in the online space may be politically advantageous for a country's government because it seeks to win votes from conservative citizens but in reality the number of gamblers will increase. Gamblers will gamble in alternative ways if they do not have access in their country. In most cases political leaders deceive citizens and use various tactics to undermine their opponents. In reality politicians do not want gambling to be banned. In a country's social and political context the government may pass a bill to limit gambling to some extent but most of the time it is not effective.

If anyone wants to be a successful politician he needs to be a big hypocrite this is the first step for having that quality after that as mentioned they all think alike. I agree with this point because they need to be otherwise things can go against them as we're seeing in many countries right now.
Gambling has become unstoppable even when they try to bring legislation or do what they want but they can't stop it because it's out of control If they want to do something they should streamline their laws and educate the public about the consequences this is the best way.
Few big countries have implemented bans but now it's working secretly they're losing revenue and the mafia is taking advantage of this just look at India where the government made a wrong decision and now it's a mockery of the country's booming sports industry.

Politicians do a lot of things and sometimes they make laws which they do not keep. There was a time politicians were cracking down on cryptocurrency and exchanges in my country but it was later revealed that some top government officials have account in Latoken and other popular exchanges. Politicians gambling may not be against any law just as a public servant, there will definitely be the perception that they will use public funds to fund reckless gambling. Hence, it will be better they stay away from gambling or gamble in secret.

It’s the rule of the government that officials are not allowed to gamble, but at the end of the day they’re still human. Personally, I don’t see anything wrong with gambling as long as it’s done responsibly, but they have an image to protect. In the Philippines corruption is already rampant, so it doesn’t look good when politicians are seen gambling, especially if they’re losing millions.

Yes, we have seen a lot of politicians that involved in gambling . Who would have forgotten the case of former President Erap? who was removed as a President during the late 90's of gambling and corruption practices as well?

But during his inauguration, he says that he will go after any thing illegal including gambling. But he didn't do that, instead have some if his name in the position and they did nothing to curb out gambling. His name is even attached to AA (Atong Ang), the cock fight gambling lord who is being investigated right now but I doubt that anything can happen to that case as he is too powerful.

You're not saying anything new. A very similar example was given by journalists in my country a few years ago. Even soft drugs are banned here, and politicians fight for this. The journalist then suggested they take a drug test, and 95% of the politicians refused.
This shows how much hypocrisy there is among those who govern us. They're afraid of being exposed. The same goes for gambling.

Politician is forbidden to gamble and if they got caught the sanction is they will be dishonorably discharged from their position in the parlement and speaking about politician against gambling in my country when these politicians speak to the public that they hate gambling and all they want is to remove this activity because they care about the citizen but in fact some politicians are still gamble even the rumour is some of them have controlled online casinos which this makes me thinking the politicians is really close to hypocrisy even i heard to satisfied their hobbies some of them have gamble using physical casinos from other countries

Of course it's ironicand not just ironic, it's deeply hypocritical. When politicians publicly condemn gambling while privately engaging in it themselves, they're not just undermining their own policies, they're betraying public trust. How can people respect or follow laws that the lawmakers themselves refuse to obey? At that point, it's not about protecting the public it's about controlling them. So yes, this goes beyond corruption this is pure hypocrisy.

They never really cared about what people want, all they expect is to simply follow what they order them to do ,irrespective of it is good or bad for them or even if they agree with that decision. They just want to show who is in the authority but they forget that they have to face elecions sooner or later and we guys should show who we want to support and who we want to be thrown out of the power.

Each country, each politicians ;D has his trouble. In my humble opinion, these kinds of issues could just rise and rise.
Or it must be regulated, including regulations related politicians and regulations about their bahit on gambling investment and so on.
Anyone that held a public place, must have all rights and chance like any other citizens but this is not the reason they can take advantage of this spot...

Politicians thrive on double standards they say one thing in front of cameras and do the opposite when nobody’s looking they call gambling destructive but many of them gamble behind the scenes they call corruption a disease but they loot public funds like it’s their right they condemn the public for vices while living even worse in private. This is why people have lost faith in governments because when the same hands making the laws are the ones breaking them how can citizens respect the system banning gambling outright has never worked anywhere it only makes it more dangerous because people still gamble but now it happens in hidden circles where mafias control everything and governments lose all tax revenue.

Regulation is the only way forward when you regulate you give people safer platforms to gamble on you set limits you educate them on risks and you make sure money flows back into the economy instead of black markets countries that try to ban gambling completely are only fooling themselves because the practice won’t disappear it will just move into darker corners. Politicians know this but they still push bans to look righteous in front of the public while secretly benefitting from the same activities it’s a cycle of hypocrisy that won’t stop until citizens demand full transparency strict enforcement and equal punishment for every official who breaks the rules.

you term it Ironic? what about the laws they enact and fail woefully when it comes to the implementation of such laws or following up on those laws to the latter? there is what is called leadership with character and for that, 70% if not more than that are always found wanting in that regard. they set up laws that is hard for them to implement while they expect the people they govern to implement such laws by all means possible.

politicians gamble, they steal, they break laws and do all manner of things they stand against and still goes scot free because they have the ability to will the law to their favor.

Drugs, excessive gambling and the misuse of power are all related to politicians who came into power with our support but never gave back anything positive I have been watching things around me for years and they are doing as they want because they feel invincible even though they have many people around them who also did the same thing now sleeping in graves.

Even in many developed countries there are too many problems happening that were never supposed to be done because politicians only think they are making the right choices politicians rarely feel on this same level gambling is meant for entertainment and is always available to them.

Developing countries are suffering badly because they have no control over their systems and institutions, and it's hard to bring them to justice because those in power are more powerful than the system and country itself.

Indeed, when was it that politicians cared about the well-being of their citizens? There are, of course, such countries. For example, Finland. In this country, they will definitely ask people's opinions and make the necessary decisions and laws based on that. In all other cases, officials and deputies are interested only in their own enrichment, using the privileges of civil servants. They don't care what others think of them. They represent power and that's where the discussion ends.

There are many politicians in that category. I am talking about the senators and house of representatives. You can not expect the lawmakers to have the same thinking and intention. Do not also expect them to all like gambling. You should not post something like this unless people saw that the same politician that against gambling is the same person that mismanaged government funds through gambling .

Don't get it wrong, there're still politicians who doesn't gamble who surely are ones laying the regulatory structures.
The aim is to help the people of Filipino in other to reduce the effects of gambling within residence maybe if we can get this right, those politicians caught on the corruption with gambling shouldn't be an attractive point in this case. And to be honest, there's seriously disorderliness in the Philippines as a high rate of gamblers in the regions are suffering it outcome. So let's just pick the right content following the reasons of the development.

It would be better if politicians focused on learning from the experience of developed countries in terms of building their economies and were dedicated to raising and improving the standard of living of their citizens. Initiatives of this kind are simply informational distractions for the public that will not affect their lives in any meaningful way, and can even bring complications instead.

What about the possibility of those politicians to be struggling with gambling addiction or they having a very difficult time to quit gambling for good, so they would be trying to prevent people of their country to suffer a similar addiction like the one they are suffering.
Sure, it could be hipocrisy from them, but I could be also the fact they have experienced first hand the problem they are trying to prevent in others.

There is a big different from one case to the other.

If I was a citizen of the Philippines, I would evaluate the situation of each one of those politicians if possible, before pointing out.

LOL that’s crazy, I’d never imagine they’d do that. In the first place, they’re holding a position in government and by rule they’re barred from entering casinos, probably for ethics or something. So it doesn’t make sense that they’d suffer from addiction themselves just so they can “share the experience.” That’s a crazy excuse.

It's not all the politicians there that was caught and exposed in the act so you can not judge all the politicians to be the same, perhaps in a group trying to achieve a common goal, you will definitely find corrupt individuals among them. All the politicians and government are not involved in gambling but rather it was the corrupt politicians and if you dig further, you might find out that the politicians that were caught with this act of gambling did not take part in pushing for banning gambling.

Do all politicians gamble? I think not all politicians gamble. There are many politicians who are good and have good hearts. They always try to be transparent in politics and are known as good friends of the people. Maybe some politicians are the reason for such bad situations in politics. Still, gambling is not bad but crazy gambling is bad which destroys people. If gambling is for entertainment, then it is fine but it should not be for making money. The people of the Philippines took gambling in a way where everyone is going towards destruction and because of the destruction, the government in the Philippines was forced to take such a decision. But in my opinion, all politicians should be transparent because they are one of the builders of the country.

Politicians are hypocrites. Most of them are loyal to the party, so they tend to support the manifesto of the party even if it is against their belief or actions. Some religious politicians in my country support an alcohol and recreational drugs ban. But they have been caught several times using these items. They just want to support because of their supporters but they are hypocrites. My suggestion is that any politicians who breaks the law he supported you serve double of the punishment stipulated for such offense.    

Government officials are playing double standard. They are hypocrites. They tell you one thing to avoid as rule or law but they disobey that same law. They are just like a father who says he doesn't like to eat meat but uses his mouth to cut the meat into pieces to give to the children.

Likewise in Nigeria in 2021, same kind of restriction happened in Nigeria but a high ranking official of the then government was seen abusing same order, going against what they preached.

https://www.legit.ng/1419776-nigerias-minister-justice-mistakenly-exposes-himself-trading-cryptocurrency.html

In my country, for example, several members of parliament were caught gambling while a meeting was in progress. Ironically, some of these members were not serious about carrying out their duties, even though gambling is prohibited in my country. They should have prevented the public from gambling, but they themselves did it. lol.

https://talkimg.com/images/2025/09/16/UCkm8T.png (https://megapolitan.kompas.com/read/2023/07/21/22362071/anggota-dprd-dki-diduga-main-game-slot-saat-rapat-paripurna-pengamat?page=all)

Gambling hypocrisy is not a new thing. And the politicians are not the only gambling hypocrite in the society.

By now you should know that laws are made for the lower citizens, the subordinate, those who cannot defend themselves with power or money if caught offending the law. Those who makes the law are not affected by it, so choose; it's either you are the hunter or the hunted.

Just an FYI the persons involved on gambling are not politicians rather just a government employee working on infrastructure sector of the government.

Although they are not allowed to play as government employees but they are not the one pushing the law to ban gambling in PH and they are just isolated cases which I believe every country has.

Law maker usually strict about following the rules for gambling.

You see, we live in a community whereby the poor man will steal a penny because of hunger and be sentenced, while the rich will embezzle and they will use a year or more than in dragging his case until we finally don't hear anything again about how it ended, it's such a pity that we all have to be more careful if we think we don't have that required thicker skin to drag it with them, because ilay last, the elites fight for themselves, but who is the voice for the poor, all these are in the same way applicable to gambling, they make the rules on what they were found doing most.

That's right upon research this is what I see implemented in the country mentioned by OP https://www.csc.gov.ph/sanctions-await-government-employees-caught-gambling-during-office-hours

So if it happens that they violate that executive order made by their government then its clearly a sign that their government is corrupt.

Also if they are really into that activities then there's huge chance that what you have said is true. Since for sure that the intention of this politicians going on that places provably want to launder or wash their stolen money.

That situation happen many times not only there but also from many parts of the world.

Politician will always be politician. We know very well on how hypocrisy their are. Just like in my country, many politicians were getting caught by doing slot during the live meeting and still trying to get away from their mistake by said they were only played game. Meanwhile, they're discussing about the draft to prohibit gamble.
Enough reason to never try believe them. It's ironic to see them do that.

The problem in every country has always been from the government, they say don't do this but they themselves are the ones doing it the most and making themselves look like responsible people in public places. Politicians are the most hypocrite set of people I know in every country and yet they always get away with their dirty games, they are pushing anti gambling rules in the Philippines while they have been gambling on the low key because they know that gambling isn't all round bad and some Philippines people that gamble are probably doing it for survival. This is indeed ironic and hypocrisy on the highest level and they too will be affected by it too.

It's crazy that we can still see politicians does this. It just means they are not afraid with the law and they can use their power to bend the rules. Still, I think people who sees them should tell this to the right authorities so that they will be punished and it will be a learning lesson for every politician who will try to do the same.
We cannot just always rely with the authorities. They will just look the other way even if they see this happening in front of them.

In the Philippines, even if you are found guilty of any crime granted you can still run for a government position and even win! This is how broken the system of the country is. These rules really do not mean much anymore. Kids of these corrupt politicians can even publicly flaunt their wealth but no one has really bat an eye until now. Or at least I hope so.
There are many ways to launder money from government projects to businesses. Yes casinos are one place to do it. But I think a lot of them are genuinely playing. Who wouldn't want to!!! As you said, when you have that much money it will be fun to gamble all that and just take more from the country.

Is this for real? These politicians should be removed immediately since there’s evidence that they are breaking the law of your country.

Social media is very powerful now that a politician like this with evidence caught in the act of breaking the law can easily be dismissed if the public will pressure the government to dismissed the said politician.

What I don’t get about these politicians is why the heck they gambling publicly while they don’t allowed to do it. At least have a shame and do it privately if they can’t resist the urge.

That’s a wrong understanding. Found guilty means you are convicted, and there’s a law on that, you cannot run for public office.

But if a person is already in jail but not yet convicted, he can still run for public office. Convicted means there’s already a verdict from the judge. Detained means the case is still waiting for judgment, so technically they can still run for office.

https://www.respicio.ph/commentaries/disqualification-of-elected-officials-due-to-criminal-conviction-in-the-philippines

It is truly ironic, because what the politician shows is very contrary to what the government is trying to achieve. If he wants to gamble, perhaps he should try not to publicize it. Of course, it would be better if people in positions like that did not gamble. Because the public's response might become excessive when seeing such a contradictory situation.
There will indeed be a notion that politicians gamble not only with their own money, because with their position in the government, they could be accused of committing crimes such as corruption that harms the people.

This is actually deep and maybe happening in so many countries today, but who could call name's, absolutely no One most especially when they do it in secret. It's actually very bad when leaders preach about something in public but they secretly indulge In it, I would say it actually damage public thrust. How can leaders or even the government want people to follow or obey rule's and regulation and take it so seriously when those in authority of those when even create the laws themselves can't lead by example. Fighting gambling addiction is a good movement but when those at the top are not doing the right thing you don't expect citizens to comply.

It's incredibly frustrating when this happens, as it goes against what they previously agreed to when creating laws or regulations for the public. Norms require public officials or the government to set a good example for the citizens they govern. This is an indirect public demand. In theory, if we want to be obeyed, we must be more disciplined than those we order or prohibit.

A government that violates its own rules is hypocritical.

Before I speak about politicians, let's talk about the rate they are trying to cut. People gamble very well, and when there is too much of it, the government will step in to lower the rate so they can be able to deal with small group of gamblers with addiction problem. If there is too much complaints about gambling, I don't mind if they reduce it though to make people gamble less and reduce the rate of gambling addiction among people but I know casino wouldn't like this pattern of regulation.

If the rule applies to all gamblers, the politicians are not excluded. They have to obey the rules and anyone found doing illegal activities have to be brought to law. What I don't know is how your country operates with law, my country politicians act like they are demigods or something above the law, that's what many of them do when they go against the law, they abuse power. This might be the same in Philippines with the way I do see content about their politicians.

Aren't most politicians hypocrites? Sometimes what they say doesn't match what they do. For example, in my country, gambling is completely illegal, you can't gamble at all, and yet, the gambling industry here is worth around $19.9 billion, far larger than in the Philippines, where gambling is legal. And even more amusingly, the gambling industry here is supported by the same officials and authorities who support the ban. So, these officials are essentially hypocrites, and that shouldn't be surprising.

I have experienced different occasions where clergy men have preached something but have acted against it when it comes to their turn of experience. We are all humans, we have our flaws and are not perfect so nobody should expect people to be perfect. I used clergy men as an example because they are the oftentimes seen as the moral champions, yet they are different occasions where they have flawed their own judgements talk more of politicians who are often known as liars. Smiles... So nothing cannot happen but it is not all politicians who talk against something and practice it.

I simply cannot understand the point of these politicians acting this way. I have often said that politicians don't need to pretend they care about the public; they should take actions that show they truly care about the public. For example, banning gambling, when they know full well that the total number of people who engage in gambling, compared to the number of people who become addicted to gambling, is not an alarming number. It would be impossible to have gambling and not have someone addicted to gambling. But because they want to please the very wealthy people in their political party, they take measures that are simply senseless.

Lest we forget that politicians are also humans and unlike any other job descriptions or career path, gambling activities is for anyone who is interested in it and politicians aren't exempted.

 The only thing I see as a distinctive prerequisite for one to become a politician and why this is a serious issue that is supposed to be dealt with by the government of the country, is that there is an amount of discipline that is required, just as certain career path or job descriptions would demand and of which being a politician is a high political office holder career or a public servant and should not be associated with  such activities, events or actions that show and promote indiscipline such as gambling, mostly when it is done excessively and indiscreetly.

If the government of that country is trying to reduce online gambling, they can shut down those casino sites, but in the current digital context, such an attempt is crazy. People can play at any online casino using VPN. The Philippines has a significant number of physical casinos where both local and foreign gamblers gamble. If the government of that country wants to regulate online gambling sites, there might be a reason for that. I think they might take such a decision because of the decrease in the number of gamblers in physical casino.

It's ironic indeed, most casinos are even owned by these politicians but it's not something that is put out as a public information. They fight against gambling a lot of times when it causes issues in the country that doesn't favour their policies. But asides from the position they occupy politicians are also humans like us, they have their strengths and also weaknesses which can include addiction to gambling

Yes, when a politician of a country is involved in a gambling affair, people do not understand and refer only to corruption. The common people think that the government or the people in the government of their country are corrupt. The common people easily assume that they are doing these things due to corruption, but the matter is completely different. They themselves are addicted to gambling and they continue their activities while on the other hand they are advising the common people to stay away from gambling. If the people in the government cannot control themselves, then how can the common people do that. Before giving any advice, you should make yourself qualified and only then should you give good advice to others.

Politicians being completely hypocritical is almost normal in every country it seems.   Treatment for addiction is a good idea but blanket restrictions and denial of citizens access to games is not because as we know, those with money and privilege will carry on however they like in just the same way anyway so its an unfair law that is often passed.

You know that gambling has been associated with political patronage and jueteng style protection for ages. Although Marcos decided to ban offshore POGOs out of concern for crime, it is almost impossible that you can shut down all offshore. After this ban, many more POGOs and POGO-like operations have been popping up without their knowledge. Although their operations are ongoing, they cannot be completely eradicated. I have noticed that senators are already pushing for investigations and stricter regulations, I do not know how effective they will be. The point is, the industry generates a lot of revenue and jobs, so banning it pushes risky games underground, for these reasons I want to state my position against a complete ban.

So I say, call out the hypocrisy, dude. what we need is transparency, so a performing ban is not desirable at all, rather we should focus on enforcement & social protection.

Did you know if politicians that gamble in front of police won't get caught?

Did you know if the politicians caught gambling, they will enter jail in public, but they actually living in their house or good room unlike jail room that we know has no facility except a bed?

Did you know if local citizen caught gambling will get jailed? except they willing to pay specific amount of money.

It's not about politicians are same like citizens, but if they want to be a politician, then accept the pros-cons instead of twist it because they have power.

That's the real reason why the people do not trust their politicians or the government, because they are showing their double standards. On one side, they are warning about the side effects of gambling and want to protect us, but on the other side, they are doing the same things for which they are stopping others. Here, the concern is not for the people but to control them and utilize them for their own favors. And one point is the money they are using does not belongs to them . If they win, the profits are theirs, and if they lose, then the whole population will suffer from that corruption in the face of inflation.

That is true mate, even though they like it they will implement the laws to affect the lower that is not up to their standards. The government are manipulative, they know how to do things in a way it will affect the public but favour themselves. They might try to stop the public from gambling but secretly they are gambling with a whole lot of money. The crazy fact is that when though they are being caught, they will be treated differently and kindly.

A lot is happening with the Philippines government and gamblers lately; it seems they really mean business to reduce gambling in the country. Even if they are among those who brought gambling to the people, if they see and consider it doing more harm than good in the country, they also have the right to try to put an end to it. If they believe that's the solution to the increase in gambling addiction

Of course you know that politicians are all the same they have the same character in every country and they make laws for only the poor but they end up not keeping those laws crazy hypocrite is who they are all of them. If the idea of restricting gamblers is for addiction is a normal thing to do but why do you think it's possible for them to do that if they don't have personal gain they wanna achieve, they have access to gamble why then restricting other citizens.

Yes, recently such a law has been enacted in Bangladesh. That is, those who have any gambling apps on their phones will be fined $100,00 or sentenced to 2 years in prison. But the thing is, those who have enacted or created the law do not obey the law. For example, if a million dollar budget is allocated to build a road, they themselves loot about 500 thousand dollars. In other words, corruption has reached such a level that the law is only for the common people, there is no law for the people in the upper echelons.

In fact, I think there will be no benefit in banning gambling or fines. Basically, the government should create awareness and create more jobs. Because due to lack of employment, people often become addicted to gambling to earn a lot of money in a short time.

In this online era, it is not possible to say anything accurately because it is not possible to understand and say exactly who is gambling and how. If a politician gambles secretly and later speaks out against gambling, then nothing can be said because he gambles secretly, maybe they are government people or politicians, even if they are banned from gambling, they will still participate anyway if they have a gambling addiction.

And gambling from the Philippines is common because in the Philippines, more or less everyone participates in gambling and the level of gambling was excessively exposed and everyone became addicted to gambling, due to which the government decided to stop gambling. When a country becomes addicted to gambling, it is natural for the government to make such a decision. Government people or politicians can participate in gambling, but if someone has a problem, they should be aware of themselves before making others aware.

It does reek of hypocrisy for politicians to be discussing and endorsing crackdowns when they are known to be gambling too. Do you have any actual examples and proof that they were "exposed" though, because at the moment we only have your word for it and this is usually private information that is unavailable to the public. You would hope that they would vote against any changes to the law that go against the form of gambling they're doing. However we should also not say that all gambling is the same, if they like to play slot games but vote against cock fighting, then that still seems fair - because one is betting on a blood sport while the other does not hurt animals.

There are even better ways which they can go about this than threatening to arrest anyone who has a gambling app on their phone. They can do things like asking app providers to restrict their citizens' access from downloading the app or deactivating anything that has to do with money transmitters in the gambling section. That way, they will make it hard for them to access gambling even if they want to. No solution is 100%, but sometimes I just consider some kind of policy as a means to exploit citizens rather than use it to help them.

Sometimes I consider the government to know what they are doing and know exactly how to help solve a problem but just decide to do something else because they actually don't want a result; rather, they just want to control.

Politicians usually say things that are often false. That's why no one wants to believe what politicians say. Especially in countries where corruption is high, the people of those countries try to do the opposite of what politicians say. They think that what they say is only to cover the media. But in reality, they do not do any of this.

You know that these politicians hates to see their citizens trying to be of equal or being close to them in terms of in terms of wealth, they enjoy seeing their citizens suffer and beg for means of livelihood that is why they make laws that will affect only the masses and when the same law they have made catches up with them ,they always look for a way out or says the law does not affect them, because they can't tell us that if they succeed in passing the law and they are gamblers that they will no longer be gambling, they are selfish and only want to be the winners alone that will be enjoying the proceed of gambling .

Very likely, one thing we know is that law makers are always or often times the law breakers, one can be an addict yet make laws against addicts or try to push a law against what he or she does in other to stand as a saint in presence of the oppressed. I would be surprised in anyways since basically powers are built on lies surrounded with truths so it does scream hypocrisy if they actually involve in such activities but at time it’s most likely that since the government of Philippines are pushing towards crackdown then a good percentage must definitely be against in for real and don’t involve in it!

But rationally, thinking if the culture of the Filipinos accepts gambling it might also mean that the politicians themselves are more involved in it than we can think of it.

OP, your post is really funny, it made me laugh while reading through, it's just like a gossip calling another  gossip a gossip and trying to tell the other one to stop gossiping, hahaha. Anyways i heard that the gambling rate in Phillipines is getting out of hand and more people are becoming addicted in that region, what the government should do is to try enlighten it's citizens on the consequences of addiction and how to avoid it, you don't use force to tame an addicted person cause it's easily developed but sometimes very difficult to stop.

Everyone does it, in Italy there are politicians so corrupt that they do whatever they want, but this is changing, before they could do anything.
Gambling was actually the least serious thing they did when they were in government, so this thing needs to be changed if possible.

Corruption is in every government in different countries , these politicians that kick against gambling are also gamblers that's what makes it so hypocritical of them...They are in power so they control and twist the rules in their favour...They claim that gambling has done more than good and they look for ways to make sure gambling is eliminated in the country but secretly they are into it

In a perfect world, politicians shouldn't be involved in these kinds of events, but they certainly are because of the inevitable corruption. For example, in my country, high-ranking politicians even own casinos and gambling houses, because they basically make the laws themselves.

This type of activity should be prohibited for public sector employees to ensure true transparency and mitigate potential cases of money laundering.

I completely get what you're saying, but there are worse things politicians could be doing to get money than gamble.  I mentioned insider trading previously, but even that is a relatively nice way for them to earn additional salary as opposed to some of the things they could be doing.  Selling weapons, land, and nuclear materials to our enemies...  Giving up confidential secrets.  Passing laws that damage their country...  If a politician needs money bad, gambling seems to me like one of the lesser possible evils they could commit.

Well convicted criminals are also investigate crimes now in the senate. So really what is the difference? Hypocrisy at its peak, I would say.
Those are different conversations now. Cockfighting should also be monitored under the lense of animal abuse so it’s a different story from the slots. But both still considered as gambling in the most general sense

The issue with gambling activity relating to government is common, well they can only regulate gambling activity not stopping gambling permanently because that’s totally impossible. I have seen different issues raised against the Philippine government and I’m surprised, are citizens living in the country that bad when it comes to gambling activity although the government can’t forcefully impose a ban or hate gambling activity.
Politicians gamble no doubt but, talking about hypocrisy they might not be in support with any decision taken basically they also engage in gambling activity although anyone can act in a different kind of way mostly negatively when they’re not innocent like op mentioned, what might happen if they get caught definitely they might as well go down to zero level.

Yeah, but it's more that you are exposed here, as compare to the other crimes that you mentioned. So for politicians, it's better to stay away from gambling to avoid any controversy so that at least you can maintain your position of power.

But it seems in the Philippines, politicians are built differently. What I mean is that they don't care who's going to see them or how much money they are going to squabble in casinos as long as they enjoy themselves and think about tomorrow that they still have a lot of money even if they lose millions in one single night.

I have this certain believe that most of the landbased casinos and the new physical sportsbookies that are springing up in several places around my country are either being owned or co-owned by some politicians. Some of these politicians know how much money is in the busy and they invest in it. And when the country's parliament wants to pass a bill against it, they lobby their friends in parliament to vote against it so that it doesn't send them out of business. Another thing they may likely do, is to push competitors out through one way or another since they have the capacity and means to do so. This  may be entirely wrong but I this is something that I think about.

It's true that in many places the government ends up charging taxes on winnings. But the important thing is for gamblers to thoroughly understand the rules of their chosen casino and seek out safe and legal alternatives to play, always prioritizing the protection of their data and money.

You must understand who politicians are. These are people who did not seek to help their citizens. Their first goal was their own enrichment. I will never tire of writing about this. You must always proceed from this fact. Believe me, in most cases this is true. And they also constantly lie to the whole society, putting themselves above everyone else. In the modern world, this is quite clearly visible, but deputies and officials have completely forgotten about it. They were so carried away by their own affairs that they did not notice how the world around them changed technologically.

It needs courage to fight against gambling because it may be related to many corrupt officials who protect the gambling business. Yes, they are hypocritical because they just waste their time without seriously exposing who is playing gambling among them. Citizens will judge that they just say without any real work because they are also playing gambling. So it is like a waste of time to turn around the circle that never ends. Maybe they will use a fake to show that they are working seriously. It happens in many countries where many corrupt officials are involved in it.

In the country where I live, there was a case when a group of politicians played gambling games in order to launder their funds and whitewash them in front of the tax authorities. After all, they did not ask for screenshots of victories, which means that the politicians simply withdrew funds to the stock exchange and then declared it as a win. But as far as I understand, they somehow entered large sums of money into online casinos and did not play with them. Perhaps they even had something to do with the organization of this casino.
The world is full of such loopholes and we can only guess what is going on there.

Well, you are completely saying the truth but in this case, it could be the same thing that happened or not but since the article didn't specifically if it was same politicians, I am just giving a benefit of doubt but I know that so many of these politicians are hypocrites and puppeteers, exactly what you say is what they do, support the goal of their party when they are in meetings but do opposite of what they say after they dismiss from their meetings.

Some people, upon coming to power, mistakenly believe that their power equates to permissiveness. In this case, they believe that laws written for the people should not be observed by them. In fact, all politicians and people appointed to leadership positions should serve as role models for their people, but, strangely enough, the power bestowed upon them transforms them from positive to negative, turning them into something completely different from what they so diligently tried to portray themselves as. Gambling becomes a favorite pastime for many, especially when they indulge in spending public funds.

I think the recent discovery about the gambling habits of those involved in the current corruption issues in the Philippines is not limited to politicians. Because those who got exposed are government employees, but in higher ranks. They too are not allowed to gamble, so they fake their identities.
I'm unsure whether it will impact the ongoing regulations in the Philippines' gambling industry. I guess casinos should also conduct a background check on the people who deal with significant amount through gambling. Those government employees spend around $100k every time they go to the casino, and those are some fraud money.

That should not have happened. After all, politicians are also part of the government, even though they have a penchant for gambling, they should still not be able to do so. Because the government is trying to reduce the level of gambling, which means the government imposes it as a program to be completed. If politicians are found to also gamble, especially with large amounts, their performance is certainly disappointing. Such politicians may need to resign.

Look, with me you're preaching to the choir, i hate every type of politician because they are uncivilized, liars and inconsistent.
They are faces that deserve to be slapped for how much they are liars and then they are also capable of asking you for your vote by promising impossible things
so use a vpn or whatever it's called and play happily

Government may be more silent about some things once they have discovered that they are mostly involved or affected by it, except they never knew about such before taking the necessary steps towards it, we know that not only the common citizens are gamblers, other government officials and those found in one thing or the other have also been found gambling even as we don't tend to know about all these, but they truly exist and happens, the same thing they have been blaming the mases for is also affecting them and they are found doing even more worse.

If casino has to do the detective works and analyse every document provided is valid and issued by the government, then they can allow 1 person successfully for a month after every check which isn't good for the casino right? All they can do is balance with government laws and what's best for their business and it's also the responsibility of a citizen to respect the laws.

Government consists of people just like us, if some of us are been replaced in these people's position we will do more terrible than them, I will keep standing on my own fact that people crave for privacy to do similar things like this.

The faking of identity was all about hiding who they really are and it still hurt them in return, they knew it was wrong to gamble while upholding the law against gambling but their addiction and crime habits won't let them.

Casinos and laundering of money is like 5&6, yet some people are screaming for privacy, criminals in disguise pushing only one thing that will benefit their evil ways, good people in the day light and vampires in the night. They should face the consequences.

It's not shocking to hear about politicians behaving like this, for they're the same people who would pass law on fighting money laundering yet they're the very same people that are deeply soaked in money laundering to hide the public funds they steal from the country leaving their citizens to suffer for what they have the resources to make available for their utility.  When you assess the entire situation from what it is to and what ought to be, you would be moved to disagree that the restrictions on gambling activities in the country is actually for what they termed it.

"The thief shouted a thief" that happened in the stronghold of politicians involved in online gambling, all forms of prohibition rules were applied and implemented, but that applies to ordinary people, not for them.

Such cases do not only occur in the Philippines, almost on average, politicians are involved in corruption and gambling cases, hypocrisy in the body of politicians has become meat blood, So do not be surprised if we see certain officials arrested alleged corruption cases caused by money to gambling, that's the real fact.

Examples of cases of politicians, corruption and gambling in other countries with the title: Online gambling scandal hits Indonesia’s anti-graft agency, highlighting country’s betting problem (https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/indonesia-online-gambling-scandal-anti-corruption-agency-4472861)

Because of the symbolic role of leadership and patriotism, people expect leaders to be disciplined, transparent and focused on governance.We all except a lot from politicians positively and that,if a leader is seen gambling it breeds disrespect,distrust and corruptible influences.

I think anyone who decides to become a politician should hold himself or herself to a higher standard. If they cannot be a good role model for their people, they should not be politicians in the first place.

Corruption and greed needs to be more tightly controlled in politics, as that is where it does the most damage.

Modern politics is all talk. Talk, talk talk. None of them actually implements what they say. They just say things that will make the people vote for them.

This is why i really hated politician. It's really ironic wen they ruled people lives, but never care with themselves. They strictly prohibiting gambling for their citizen, but wasted people money by always gamble it.

It's a different situation here in the Philippines. Yes, they've done something to reduce the gambling addiction from our countrymen and one of it is to unlink the e-wallets to online casinos. While these politicians and government employees, they've embezzled people's fund that should be for the flood control projects and that's the reason why we've been flooded even there is no typhoon at all and just some rainfall warning. They really are disappointing at all because they know what they're doing and they're aware that the money they're using to gamble is from the public funds.

What will make a public office holder from gambling as bad is if there is an already existing law that prohibits any government official from Gambling if mot I don't see any thing wrong with any government official from Gambling, if the right laws are not broken what you should consider is the moral right of the government official from Gambling.

Politicians are also humans as well I'm not surprised to hear that some of them are gamblers. Most of that prominent politicians in a lot of countries are even casino owners. It's hypocritical for them to kick against gambling while they indulge in it secretly. When gambling doesn't generate the money they need in the country in order words (taxes). Gambling should not be prohibited if they themselves are gmabling

It’s different from country to country. OP mentioned the Philippines, so yeah it’s prohibited here. There are rules that government officials aren’t allowed to enter casinos, and probably applies to online gambling too. There were even reports before where PAGCOR voided winnings for reasons like the player being a minor or a government official.

So the government has been enforcing this policy for a while.
If they really want to gamble, then they shouldn’t be working in government in the first place, simple as that.

Hypocrisy is rife in our world. There's a saying here in Brazil, "Do as I say, not as I do," which I believe perfectly fits the point made in this thread. Most of the time, the rules only apply to others. It's impossible to measure the number of people who preach one thing and live something completely different, especially those who govern us or hold authority in our countries.

That is why we shouldn't believe on everything we hear people say to be true, some are not but a pretense to deceive and lure us into something else, gambling is not many do and like coming out to the public to say it, as a matter of fact, some will even consider on others who gambles as being outlawed, all because they were seen with a kind of patterned way of living which they may have something to complain about.

Agreed. It's highly unethical for politicians to engage in gambling. If someone already a politician directly engages in gambling it will undoubtedly undermine trust in the institutions where they serve, and it will also impact their duty to serve the people with sincerity. When officials engage in gambling it's not impossible for them to abuse their authority, leading to corruption, money laundering, and other activities that can drain state funds.

Gambling is indeed legal in the Philippines and the Philippines is the largest gambling hub in Asia. However when state officials engage in gambling it remains unethical as politicians hold public office and must exercise authority and responsibility for the welfare of the people.

Politicians generally are not stable people both on the government policies and their non governmental activities. For example, The politicians that made some law against drugs, are found secretly going against the laws on drugs. In fact, politicians that are found gambling should be better than those who make the law but go against them. I don't think there anything wrong on politicians gambling, it is a matter of choice, whether there are laws or no laws.

Hypocrites? Yes that's the right word for these politicians especially if they use government money for their gambling, I've also heard that some politicians there have suffered significant losses, I wonder if they also gamble online?
But hey this kind of situation isn't unique to your country. I'm pretty sure there are politicians who behave like this in other countries even in my own.