PRESIDENT Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. said Friday, August 8, 2025, that the government will gather various stakeholders, including the Church, educators, parents, police, and addiction experts, to craft a comprehensive policy on online gambling and its socio-economic impact.
Marcos announced the plan during a Kapihan with the Media in Bengaluru, India, describing the initiative as a “conclave” aimed at ensuring that all sectors are heard in the policy formulation.
“Internally, we are calling it a ‘conclave’ to put all of the interested parties. CBCP (Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines’ members have) been very vocal on their position, so they must be heard,” he said.
The President said the government would carefully weigh options, noting that an outright ban may not always address the problem.
He cited the example of “e-sabong” (online cockfight betting), which continued underground after being banned.
“So, let’s use that as an example. Successful ba ‘yung pag-ban natin sa e-sabong? Kung hindi, bakit hindi naging successful? Yun ang mga kailangan natin pag-aralan,” Marcos said.
(Let’s use that as an example. Was the ban on e-sabong successful? If not, why? Those are the things we need to study.)
“I don’t want to influence anyone’s opinion here until we hear from the group who will be examining the question. But in my opinion, a ban will not take care of the problem. We have to be a little bit more measured in our response,” he added.
Many senators earlier expressed dismay that Marcos did not mention online gambling in his fourth State of the Nation Address, including Majority Floor Leader Joel Villanueva, who said that the vice does not contribute anything to society.
"Nakapanghihinayang lamang na hindi nabanggit ng Pangulo ang kanyang posisyon laban sa salot na dulot ng online gambling,” Villanueva said.
(It is simply regrettable that the President did not mention his position against the scourge brought by online gambling.)
However, Malacañang defended Marcos for not mentioning the ban on online gambling, saying that the matter still needs to be studied.
“Kapag nga tinanggal natin agad-agad ang online gambling at maapektuhan ang ibang mga lisensiyado, makakaapekto ba ito sa tulong sa bayan, sa mga estudyante, sa mga Pilipino?” Castro said.
(If we immediately remove online gambling and other licensed entities are affected, will this also affect assistance to the country, to students, and to Filipinos?)