Philippines banning gambling ads?

[Italian Panic]

For example, in Italy, banners and adverts for gambling websites have been banned on television and at sporting events for years, but the number of people who gamble has not fallen; on the contrary, it is a market experiencing impressive growth.
For example, Inter had to remove adverts for a betting website, and Lazio also had to terminate its contract with Polymarket last year, even though it is not a gambling site but a prediction market.

[demonica]

Let's be honest. There are probably a lot of government officials involved in gambling. Not only as a player, but as businessmen. These casino owners probably have connections in the government so I really think it'll take time before it gets passed. If big government officials have secret businesses related to gambling, then they'll probably try to slow down or prevent the bill from passing. Cause online ads really do bring a lot of customers to them. That's why they are willing to pay a big amount to influencers for endorsement.

What's good about banning online gambling ads is it prevents minors from being exposed and familiarized about gambling at a young age. Social media is widely used by minors too, so it's inevitable that they'd see gambling ads from time to time. However, I really think that there are powerful people in the position that would try to stop this bill. The only thing I see that would make these government officials pass this bill is through the pressure of the public.

[Free Market Capitalist]

I think the government of Philippines are trying to stop gambling addictions that why they are asking for the ads to be banned and in such a way this will literally help some gamblers to limit their addictions or the upcoming gamblers who might have been lure by the ads they see online and wants to start gambling, honestly  advertising gambling winnings and platforms has aided alot of people to becoming addicts because they will always want to try the new odds and platforms advertised.

I don't think the measure is a bad idea; those kinds of ads are banned in other countries or restricted to very specific times (in the early morning, for example). The same goes for tobacco and alcohol.

Even as much as the ads will be banned from TVs, Social media and every other platforms it still won't stop gambling because those that have been gambling in Philippine will still continue to do so...

It's not just about betting; gambling ads may be banned in the Philippines in the future, but it will be impossible to completely block ads from other parts of the world online.

[Orpichukwu]

And to think this is still just a bill. If there are powerful people supporting big casino operators, then maybe it will not be that easy to pass.

So do you think this will actually pass or is it already too late? 

A lot has been going on in the Philippines concerning gambling addiction and how to tackle it lately, from blocking illegal gambling platforms down to trying to limit how people access the casino. I don’t know if the law will pass rulings or not, but if it does, it will be hard for new casinos to see the light since there is no means to market it, but those who already know about gambling will still do their thing.

You can also share what is happening in your country if you have a similar situation.

In my country there are no clear rules which are trying to stop gambling addiction; in fact, since this year I have seen more aggressive gambling ads all over social media than I have ever seen in the past years, and the government is not doing anything about it.

[Japinat]

In my country there are no clear rules which are trying to stop gambling addiction; in fact, since this year I have seen more aggressive gambling ads all over social media than I have ever seen in the past years, and the government is not doing anything about it.

Social media advertisement, I think this one is quite hard to stop especially if it's an influencer doing it. If the bill says complete ban then maybe it's possible, but nowadays there are still many ways to advertise without putting the influencer's identity at risk, you know with AI and everything.

So implementation is really important here because advertisers will always try to find a loophole they can abuse so they can continue making money.

[bakasabo]

I think banning gambling ads not going to have a large effect, because problem is not in new gamblers coming to gambling industry, but existent gamblers bring more and more money and becoming addicted. Those who are aware of gambling, dont pay attention to ads. Those who gamble will spread info about gambling to those who are not aware of gambling by talking, asking for money, by showing off with money they have won. Besides, banning ads does not ban platforms or gambling related content. On tv, cigarettes are blurred, smoking content is being cut off from content. There are no smoking ads. However that does not reduce number of smokers.

[Crypto_Timothy]

A Senate bill wants a nationwide ban on online gambling ads across all media platforms, so that probably means TV, social media and other online platforms.

Usually whenever i see news like this, i never take them serious because i know how seriously backed up most of these casinos really are, especially inside the government, so usually i just take news like this as paparazzi, like who ever is trying to pass the bill just wants attention becuase banning something like this only does more harm than if you keep it legal but regulate it. If you ban anything related to gambling, the main effect it will have is doubling the value on black market so instead of fighting it, you are only just increasing the market value. In my country, no body touches the gambling industry, like i said, they are very much backed up, i think they best way to go about it, is to regulate it so anyone who wants to make gambling ads, have to do it the right way.

[Hatchy]

You can also share what is happening in your country if you have a similar situation.

It would only cut off a source of revenue for many big branding companies. This would not solve the issue of gambling in any country and I still wonder how they would be able to enforce these kinds of rules on social media. If they really want to fight gambling addiction, they should find ways to address the problem more effectively. Removing the small branches does not bring down the whole tree it only leaves a mess everywhere. Since the bill has not yet been passed, maybe they should reconsider it and come up with a better solution. We don't have anything like this in my country, although I know very well that our government does not care much about people's well being compared to countries like the Philippines. Gambling is still largely unrestricted here.

[freedomgo]

I think banning gambling ads not going to have a large effect, because problem is not in new gamblers coming to gambling industry, but existent gamblers bring more and more money and becoming addicted.

If gambling addiction is really that rampant, then maybe removing advertisements will not have a huge impact right away. But at least the government is doing something to help, starting with limiting gambling ads so people will see less of it and maybe eventually forget about gambling, especially those who cannot control themselves.

This problem happens mostly because of irresponsible gambling. Gambling itself is not really a problem even if we lose most of the time, as long as we are responsible with it. But in a country where the poverty rate is high, you can already expect that some people will gamble hoping it can solve their financial problems.

[Asiska02]

This could be a sign in order to curtail the fast rising addiction of gambling in the country. They have a good reason for doing it but how well will it be effective is the question of contention now as it stands. Many people are already addicted which was what prompt them to move for this bill. This bill may not solve the problem effectively as they want, but it’ll help curtail future gambling addiction in the country. Online media platforms spread information faster than word of mouth to mouth, so this will really affect how vast spread the addiction can go in the future but it may not fully solve the problem at hand now.

[Orpichukwu]

In my country there are no clear rules which are trying to stop gambling addiction; in fact, since this year I have seen more aggressive gambling ads all over social media than I have ever seen in the past years, and the government is not doing anything about it.

Social media advertisement, I think this one is quite hard to stop especially if it's an influencer doing it. If the bill says complete ban then maybe it's possible, but nowadays there are still many ways to advertise without putting the influencer's identity at risk, you know with AI and everything.

If a country's government is working, they can completely stop it. If they ban influencers from taking gambling-related promotions, they can still reach out to the social media management team to block any content that has anything to do with gambling. Even if it’s AI-generated content, it will be pushed through ads, so it’s still possible for the platform to block it from reaching any geographical location they want to block.

[coin-investor]

So what's really happening in the Philippines now? They make the problem worse first before making this kind of measure. I wonder if it's just for show because it's not really preventing the problem, it's more like showing that they are doing their job to protect people even though the damage has already been done.

So do you think this will actually pass, or is it already too late?

Whether they pass it or not, that's how far the government can go; they will never ban gambling because it's a big source of revenue, and the government also owns physical casinos and many online casinos through PAGCOR.

The gambling ad bans are a Band-Aid solution because they want to calm the calls of some sectors because of the growing addictions; the growing concern of gambling addiction is still there, and they also want to shut down illegal casinos that are competing for the share of the market.

[DPHOR]

They said it will help Filipinos against gambling addiction. The Bill as not yet been signed, but if it is sign, maybe it might reduce gambling exposure, but I do not think it will reduce gambling exposure in countries that people are gambling very well already. They can easily pass gambling information among themselves from friends to friends. But this might affect some gambling sites, especially the upcoming ones.

This is also what I am thinking about because when their government try everything to restrict people from having direct contact to the gambling site their could be an alternative to that so that they can start sharing gambling information amongst themselves.
However, they may try their best to limits the upcoming gamblers but they can't entirely stops those who are deemed to be routed into gambling activities over the years, and even if it was stopped other strategy could quickly arise were it would be deployed by them to use it to gamble.

[Charles-Tim]

Whether they pass it or not, that's how far the government can go; they will never ban gambling because it's a big source of revenue, and the government also owns physical casinos and many online casinos through PAGCOR.

You are probably a Filipino. I wanted to disputed this before until I found out that you are correct. PAGCOR (Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation) is owned and 100% controlled by the Philippine government.

It is very funny that they want to ban gambling ads. If gambling is still a huge source of revenue for the government, you know what that means. Almost all the taxes are from the gambling sites and not gambers.

[KiaKia]

A Senate bill wants a nationwide ban on online gambling ads across all media platforms, so that probably means TV, social media and other online platforms.

So what's really happening in the Philippines now? They make the problem worse first before making this kind of measure. I wonder if it's just for show because it's not really preventing the problem, it's more like showing that they are doing their job to protect people even though the damage has already been done.

And to think this is still just a bill. If there are powerful people supporting big casino operators, then maybe it will not be that easy to pass.

So do you think this will actually pass or is it already too late?

You can also share what is happening in your country if you have a similar situation.

They are addressing the issue wrongfully, we have 15+ rated movies for a reason, they censor every movies based on ages for public views I don't understand why they can't make gambling something that's for adults only and make it work that way.

I think situation in Philippines about gambling is very bad, for them to go this length means something very bad is going on in that country, they are like Indonesia but not all Muslims like Indonesia.

I think banning advertising is pointless. A ban might work, but it would be a drop in the ocean. It would have virtually no impact. All social media is clogged with this advertising, and no one can do anything about it.

The Philippine government pretends to care about its citizens, but that's far from the truth. Officials don't care about the people or their problems. They're only concerned with one thing: getting rich. Anything else is a dead end.

Banning ads can't be useless if so many numbers of people in the country are getting addicted in a local casino, atleast this move will make all casinos to close down in the country, it will be effective to a certain stage trust me, some gamblers like using physical locations.

[Smartprofit]

In my country, gambling advertising is also prohibited on all media platforms. Moreover, this ban has been in effect for a very long time. 🙋

Only offline casino gambling is permitted in the country, located strictly within four geographic zones. Apparently, the authorities wanted to create four national Las Vegases, four places that would generate significant tax revenue for the budget. In my opinion, this plan was not fully implemented.

Basically, almost everything is prohibited in my country, except for breathing ... What's the danger of such bans? The danger is that one ban (restriction) usually precedes another. And this new ban is followed by yet another... And this process is endless. Officials are very fond of introducing all sorts of bans and restrictions. It doesn't require great intelligence, but it creates the illusion of complex legislative work.

In practice, people will continue to gamble as they have before.  Yes, there will be no advertising on Philippine television or online, but there will be advertising on Telegram channels and our forum. People love gambling, and advertising bans won't stop them. 💁

[acroman08]

So do you think this will actually pass or is it already too late?

It's probably just for a show. If you know our government, they love putting up a show to look good for the public. That being said, I wouldn't mind if it passed, and if it did pass, they should follow it up with a strong gambling awareness campaign if they actually want to curb the gambling addiction problem in the country.

Anyway, if they were actually able to pass this bill, the gambling revenue in the Philippines might drop further, I mean, a week ago there was an article where it talks about how the gambling revenue in the Philippines from April to June dropped 20% compared to the revenue it got last year.

[Iranus]

And to think this is still just a bill. If there are powerful people supporting big casino operators, then maybe it will not be that easy to pass.

Actually, your doubt is not completely unfounded. If I recall correctly, Philippine's gambling industry's revenue in last fiscal year was about 6.5 billion USD. So, it is hard to imagine that lobbying and political influence will not work where such a large amount of money is involved. I cannot say right now whether it will be passed or not. It is still just a filed bill, it has a long way to go before it passes the committee stage and becomes a full fledged law. You know, many things can get silently stuck on this path.

And no matter how strong the law is if there is no coordination of implementation then it is basically very ineffective. To make it effective everyone from telecom regulator to central bank to the financial intelligence agency will have to work together. So even if the gazette is published in some way, let's see if there is actually coordinated implementation.

[Natalim]

They are just following what other nations are doing.. as per article

Spain limits broadcast hours and bans welcome bonuses, Italy’s Dignity Decree prohibits gambling advertising across all media and sports sponsorships, New Zealand bans affiliate marketing for online gambling, while China prohibits advertising for any internet or real money gambling.

But their approach is more aggressive because they really want to ban online gambling ads. So they're just aligning with what other countries are also doing, and I think this campaign is good anyway.

Because if the gambling industry becomes one of the biggest contributors of income in a country, especially if most of that money is coming from locals, then that already tells you there's probably a bigger problem happening.

[AgriTrack]

It's not as easy as it may sound. In our country, gambling is prohibited by law, and casinos are not allowed and illegal, but still, there are so many casinos operating where you can gamble, deposit through mobile apps or cryptocurrencies, and even banks, and you can withdraw to mobile wallets and banks as well, and they are also promoted on social media platforms such as Facebook, TikTok, and many other platforms. If it's prohibited and illegal, how are they still operating within the country? And why aren't the authorities closing them down and finding the people behind them? That's because it's not that easy.

Even if the bill gets passed, I'm pretty sure there will still be casinos being advertised on social media platforms and they won't be able to stop them completely. If it's not the casino itself advertising, their customers will do it only to promote their referral links and earn money that way, and this trick is used by so many people all around the world, because anyone who signs up under you and makes large deposits eventually, you are going to get a good share from that.