Senate chief sounds alarm over 'surging' online gaming

SENATE President Francis Escudero warned that the surge in online gaming where bets can be placed through mobile phone apps means that there is now "a casino" in every Filipino's pocket.

The senator said that his office has received reports from industry insiders that total online bets could reach between P600 billion and P1 trillion a year.

This is "more than double the reported gross annual sales of a popular fast-food chain in the country," Escudero said on Sunday.

He expressed concern that while physical casinos can flag underage entrants to their facilities, "there is no bar for a grade schooler to log into a PIGO account."

In a statement, Escudero called for a wide-ranging financial and social audit of these "easy to access" internet gambling platforms.

He asked government regulators to conduct a "social cost-state benefit" analysis of the activities of Philippine inland gaming operators (PIGOs) because "online gaming can now pick the pocket of every Filipino."

He said the same accounting the government used in assessing and outlawing the Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs) should apply to PIGOs.

"What is sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander. An anomaly does not cease to be one because Filipinos are doing it," Escudero said. "I would like to see government practice the same attention to detail in assessing PIGO as it did with POGO."

Escudero asked whether all government agencies "went granular in studying the impact of POGOs on our society?"

Once the inquiry on PIGOs is underway, Escudero said he expects data on "tax payments of PIGOs, the ownership structure, the share of the government, police reports on crimes that addicted gamblers had committed to come to light."

A new accounting of the entire gaming industry "is in order to determine the true picture as to how much bets do Filipinos place in a year," he added.