Senator Migz Zubiri is calling for a total phaseout—not just regulation—of online gambling in the Philippines.
On Friday, Zubiri filed Senate Bill No. ___ or the “Anti-Online Gambling Act of 2025” in the 20th Congress, seeking to prohibit all forms of online gambling, including digital betting platforms, mobile apps, and websites that allow users to gamble using electronic devices.
“Let’s not kid ourselves. Gambling addiction looks different now,” Zubiri said.
“It is no longer the image of a person addicted to a casino or cockpit. It now looks like a kid with a phone under the covers at 2 a.m., losing the family’s grocery money on an online casino site.”
He warned that while the Marcos administration has cracked down on offshore gambling operations, domestic online gambling has quietly grown and is now damaging family relationships and finances.
Just last week, Senator Win Gatchalian also filed a separate bill aimed at regulating the use of e-wallets such as GCash, PayPal, and Maya for online gambling, citing a rise in digital betting addiction among Filipinos.
If passed, Zubiri’s measure would outlaw all online gambling operations nationwide.