Philippine Church renews call for total online gambling ban
Cardinal David challenges revenue argument, calls issue a moral crisis.
Key points:
– Catholic Bishops reiterate demand to outlaw all online gambling
– Cardinal says addiction outweighs government revenue benefits
– Pagcor reports over PHP 100bn ($1.71bn) income from online gambling sector
As reported by The Inquirer, the Catholic Church in the Philippines has once again pushed for a complete ban on online gambling, arguing that the practice brings significant social harm despite government claims of its financial contribution.
Cardinal Pablo Virgilio David, president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), voiced strong opposition at the Philippine Conference on New Evangelisation held in Manila. He revealed that Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor) chair Alejandro Tengco recently responded to the CBCP’s July 7 pastoral letter with a detailed defence, emphasising the substantial revenue online gambling generates.
Pagcor has stated that over PHP 100bn is raised from the sector, supporting state programmes and providing jobs for more than 30,000 individuals. However, Cardinal David criticised this rationale, likening it to justifying harmful activities for profit. “You might as well legalise other addictions,” he said, underscoring the contradiction in relying on a practice he deemed inherently destructive.
Good to know: CBCP has consistently opposed online gambling, calling it a “deep and widespread moral crisis” and linking it to family breakdowns and youth addiction
David questioned the idea that regulatory efforts could prevent tech-savvy youth from accessing gambling platforms, suggesting such measures are insufficient. He called online gambling “modern-day slavery” and likened its addictive nature to that of social media, with both eroding social bonds and mental well-being.
While President Marcos has not yet declared his position, regulators and private sector players including GCash, Maya and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas have begun implementing tighter controls on gambling-related transactions and promotions. Meanwhile, several lawmakers have filed bills seeking to either regulate or completely prohibit online gambling.
Another issue legislators often fail to identify is that ‘banning’ something does not remove the activity, it simply sends it underground, not at all fixing the very practical and moral implications they are trying to address.
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