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Leading Philippine online gambling companies have created an industry association to promote compliance and public awareness as the Senate scrutinises bills calling for tighter regulation or a full ban. 

Eighteen online casino, bingo and sports betting companies and an industry law firm on Saturday (August 9) launched the PlaySafe Alliance of the Philippines, a trade body for a high-growth industry under threat from anti-gambling forces in Congress.

The timing of the launch could not be more critical, with a Senate committee to begin vetting bills this week that could further constrain domestic gambling operations or prohibit them entirely.

The creation of the alliance is notable for banding together leading companies in self-defence in a sector with a tradition of reclusiveness and opacity, creating a would-be political buffer that the banned foreign-facing “POGO” segment failed to bring about.

However, PlaySafe Alliance spokesperson and World Platinum Technologies president Mike Defensor said the industry’s greatest threat is from proliferating underground operations that siphon market share from regulated operators.

“The real enemy for the online gambling industry is the illegal market,” he said in Filipino during the launch.

The illegal market is “unlicensed and unregulated, minors can play, it pays no taxes and doesn’t follow the rules,” the BusinessMirror quoted Defensor as saying. “Instead of being protected, the public is being put at risk. 

“Around 70 percent of the online gambling market now is illegal, while only 30 percent is legal and follows regulations and pays taxes to the government.

“That’s why strict regulation and focusing on legal operators are essential to ensuring safe, responsible and fair gaming for everyone,” he said.

Jasper Vicencio, president of AB Leisure Exponent, a subsidiary of online gambling giant and alliance founding member DigiPlus Interactive Corp, told the launch that the alliance is “laying the groundwork for a unified and more powerful industry, one that is ready to advocate for its future”.

The alliance named five immediate priorities, including combating illegal gambling through deterrence initiatives, collaborating with regulator PAGCOR, strengthening responsible gambling measures, public awareness and health campaigns, and investment in gambling harm mitigation and addiction support.

“This alliance is not about competition. It’s about collaboration,” DigiPlus chairman Eusebio Tanco said in an earlier statement.

“By working as one, we can ensure that online gambling in the Philippines will be more secure, transparent and beneficial to both players and the nation.”

DigiPlus said in the statement that lawmakers, regulators and gambling companies are “working to find the right balance between protecting public welfare and sustaining the sector’s economic impact.

“In this context, the formation of the PlaySafe Alliance signals a unified commitment to higher standards and greater accountability.

“Without licensed operators, the system loses its only layer of accountability. The alliance was formed to prevent that risk and to raise industry standards across the board.”

The Senate’s Games and Amusements Committee will convene this Thursday (August 14) to consider a raft of bills looking to ban or heavily restrict a sector that has become one of the top ten regulated markets in the world.

Committee chair Senator Erwin Tulfo said on Sunday that the hearing has been fast-tracked because the “problem” with the industry “is getting worse”.

Indeed, the clash between public damage from gambling and the industry and government’s need for revenue has become so pronounced in recent months that it has overshadowed the notoriety of the POGO industry and government attempts to mop up remnant foreign-facing operations.

“It’s a crisis now, so we really need to take action to solve this problem,” he said.

After several weeks of media noise on its formation, the PlaySafe Alliance’s launch appears to have proceeded with a degree of haste, as it is yet to elect its leadership or name members to policy committees.

The alliance also plans to create an international panel of independent experts to advise on responsible gambling, financial technology, public health and “consumer advocacy”, according to the DigiPlus statement.

Additional to pressure from lawmakers, the domestic industry is on notice from the central bank, which is finalising payments company rules that would impose transaction limits and greatly strengthen know-your-customer measures and risk assessment, backed up by fines and licence suspensions for violators.

Payments providers have already reacted to the central bank campaign, with Philippine payments market leader GCash announcing pre-commitment and self-exclusion measures for customers on Wednesday.

“Users will now be allowed to actually restrict their ability to engage in gaming activities temporarily or permanently,” said Carlo Puno, CFO for GCash's parent company Globe Telecom.

The government is also considering a hike in online gambling taxes and mandatory stock exchange listings for online gambling companies to increase accountability and transparency, while PAGCOR has signed a deal with the Ad Standards Council to vet all gambling promotions.

Still, amid all the regulatory and political pressure, the surprising refusal by Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to broach online gambling reform or prohibition during his annual state of the nation speech to Congress on July 28 suggests that the executive branch remains supportive of the industry and likely to defend it.