The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) is now monitoring messaging apps and online shopping platforms that may be involved in online gambling.
The agency also warned that these apps may be banned if gambling activities are detected.
DICT Secretary Henry Aguda said that after e-wallet apps unlinked online gambling sites from their platforms, the department is now looking into reports that operators may be shifting to messaging and shopping apps.
Aguda explained that some operators, mostly illegal ones, are using messaging apps for recruitment and advertising, while shopping apps may be selling gaming or gambling vouchers.
“The illegal operators, who used to rely on websites, appear to have left those. Most have moved to Telegram and Viber. We are already warning Telegram and Viber that if they don’t clean up their platforms, we will ban them,” Aguda said.
The DICT chief also noted that social media giant Facebook is cooperating with authorities and has begun removing pages linked to illegal online gambling.
“You can expect that this week we will have a solution for that,” Aguda said when asked about the department’s response to apps still violating the policy.
E-commerce giant Lazada, meanwhile, said it is complying with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas directive on removing gambling-related access from mobile payment applications and websites.
Lazada said that as of August 15, it had removed all links providing in-app gambling access on its platform. The company added it has reviewed its systems to ensure that no direct or indirect access to gambling-related content remains.
“We remain committed to upholding regulatory standards and safeguarding the trust and protection of our consumers,” Lazada said.
Aguda also acknowledged that new gambling sites continue to emerge even after the DICT took down more than 8,000 sites. “We coordinated with telcos, and so far, they have complied. But we still need to keep watch,” he said.
Globe President and CEO Carl Cruz, who joined Aguda at the event, said GCash has already delinked from online gambling sites.
He did not disclose the financial impact on GCash revenues but stressed that the e-wallet platform will continue to expand due to its diverse revenue streams.
“Its [GCash’s] revenue stream is highly diversified, and despite the regulatory requirement to delink e-wallets from online gaming, the growth story and trajectory of GCash will definitely continue,” Cruz said.
Another digital payments platform, Maya, has also earlier confirmed it had delinked from online gambling sites.
Messaging app Viber said it will cooperate with Philippine authorities and align with their guidance on gambling content.
“Our policies allow gambling-related content only where permitted by local laws and regulations,” Rakuten Viber said in a statement to ABS-CBN News. “We are engaging with the relevant authorities and will align our approach with their forthcoming guidance.”
Meanwhile, the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) said it is studying best practices in other countries to combat illegal online gambling.
The agency is considering an online government-run platform that would oversee legal online gambling transactions instead of allowing private e-wallets to handle them.
“We’re trying to study other models abroad, and one of the things we may propose is for the government itself to be the one authorized to provide services to gaming platforms,” said CICC Acting Deputy Executive Director Renato Paraiso.
Paraiso added that the platform could be managed by a government-owned bank such as Landbank or DBP but noted that this would require new legislation.
