Philippine bill would ban all online gambling ads

Cebu Third District Representative Karen Hope Garcia filed House Bill 10982 on 1 September, a measure that would prohibit advertising, promotion, endorsement and sponsorship of online gambling across every medium in the Philippines.

The bill, titled the Online Gambling Advertising Prohibition Act of 2026, covers television, radio, print, billboards, websites, mobile applications and social media. It also reaches influencer and content creator partnerships, celebrity endorsements, vlogging, affiliate marketing, search and targeted advertising, and direct email and SMS marketing. Bonuses, free bets and referral codes are treated as promotional material under the same prohibition.

Penalties

Operators that breach the ban would face fines of PHP 500,000 to PHP 10 million (around US$8,100 to US$162,000 at PHP 61.7 to the dollar), suspension or cancellation of their licence, and up to three years imprisonment.

Public figures who endorse online gambling would have to return the payments they received and would be barred from endorsement work for three to five years. Media platforms, advertising firms and internet service providers that carry the material would face fines of up to PHP 50,000 per day and possible revocation of their licences.

Land-based gambling is exempt. Licensed casinos, Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) lotteries, horse racing and licensed cockpits could continue to advertise if they meet responsible gaming standards.

The case Garcia makes

Garcia framed the measure around exposure in the home.

“This bill tells the industry it can’t chase our children and vulnerable families into their homes to sell them on it.”

The bill cites Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) figures showing that electronic and online gaming produced PHP 201.12 billion in 2025, or 50.77% of the industry’s total PHP 396.14 billion in gaming revenue. Online overtook casinos as the largest segment of the Philippine market that year, which makes an advertising ban a revenue question as well as a consumer protection one.

A market already contracting

PAGCOR expects total income of PHP 86.95 billion in 2026, down about 18% from PHP 106.03 billion in 2025, according to figures presented at its budget hearing on 25 August. Net income is forecast at PHP 1.66 billion, against PHP 17.47 billion last year.

First-half revenue fell 26.6% to PHP 43.32 billion, with the electronic gaming segment down 41.9%. Gross gaming revenue had already fallen 15.9% year on year in Q1 2026.

PAGCOR chairman and CEO Alejandro Tengco attributed most of the decline to the decision to disconnect electronic wallets from gambling platforms.

“We had experienced a downtrend of about 40 percent in gaming activity because it’s not as easy as before when platforms were linked.”

Tengco expects some recovery in the second half.

PAGCOR’s position

The regulator has consistently favoured tighter rules over prohibition. PAGCOR ordered the removal of gambling advertisements from public spaces in 2025 and has warned that broader restrictions would cut jobs and government revenue without removing illegal operators from the market.

Marie Antonette Quiogue, CEO of Arden Consult, made the channelisation argument directly.

“Every country that enacted a total ban, starting with Italy in 2018, ended up with a larger illegal market.”

Offshore sites that already ignore Philippine licensing rules would also ignore an advertising ban, while licensed platforms would lose their legal acquisition channels. Brazil’s Senate advanced a total gambling advertising ban of its own in February, on the same reasoning and against the same objection.

Where this sits in a wider push

HB 10982 is one of several restrictive proposals in the 20th Congress. House Bill 1876, filed by Manila Representative Benny Abante, would prohibit online gambling and offsite betting outright. House Bill 1351, the Kontra E-Sugal bill from the Anakbayan party-list, would raise the minimum age to 21, require government ID at registration, impose loss limits enforced by PAGCOR, and bar e-wallets and super apps from carrying gambling content. Senator Raffy Tulfo has said he will file a Senate measure for a full ban.

This follows the removal of Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs), which President Ferdinand Marcos Jr ordered in 2024.

The bill has yet to be referred to committee and no hearing date has been set. What happens to it decides whether licensed operators keep any legal route to acquire players in a market where online is already the larger half of revenue.

Source: House of Representatives of the Philippines