Senator Erwin Tulfo on Sunday praised the e-wallet firms for complying with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ 48-hour ultimatum to unlink their apps from online gambling but warned that they are shifting to other platforms like Viber, Telegram, and Lazada.
The earlier directive required digital payment providers to delink online gaming sites to help curb gambling addiction in the Philippines.
Tulfo, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Games and Amusement, said that the Senate’s efforts should not stop with e-wallets and that other platforms hosting gambling services must also take action.
He cited an advisory from BingoPlus informing users that they could still access games through its app, website, and Viber, while deposits and withdrawals via Cash and Maya would remain available.
The gambling platform is also selling vouchers on Lazada, which can be redeemed as credit points to play in their app, and can be purchased using e-wallets, debit cards, or credit cards, just like any other product on Lazada.
“The fight against public access to gambling is far from over, and we will do everything to work with the private sector and other stakeholders to develop broader and more effective solutions to this problem,” Tulfo assured.
The senator reminded the public that the government and private companies are allies, not adversaries, in preventing the next generation of Filipinos from becoming gamblers.
