The FinTech Alliance Philippines, described as the country’s largest organisation representing financial technology (fintech) companies, says it supports calls for a strengthened regulatory framework on the use of digital financial services to access licensed online gaming platforms.
“The Alliance recognises the growing concern from the public and other sectors over the impact of gaming,” said Lito Villanueva, the group’s founding chairman, in a Wednesday statement, as reported by local media outlets.
“We are united in our commitment to be part of the solution by working closely with regulators, elevating safeguards, and protecting the welfare of Filipino consumers,” he added.
According to the alliance’s website, it counts major fintech companies as its members, including GCash, Maya, RCBC and CIMB Bank. The website adds that collectively, its membership of over 100 corporations, facilitates “more than 95 percent of the country’s digital retail financial transaction volume”.
There has been a growing chorus of voices in the Philippines calling for changes to the online gaming sector there, ranging from tighter restrictions on access to digital gambling platforms, to additional taxes, and a ban on the use of electronic wallets (e-wallets) for gambling purposes. There have even been calls for a complete ban.
Last week, the Philippines’ Department of Finance was said to be mulling a tax for the online gaming sector in the country, as well as the possibility of introducing stricter policies regarding access to digital gambling platforms.
The country’s central bank, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), also published a statement last week saying it would issue a circular requiring banks and e-wallet platforms to protect their users from risks associated with online gambling.
“The circular would seek to require BSP-supervised institutions, primarily banks and electronic money issuers, to better protect users of their digital platforms from these risks,” stated the institution.
“The BSP is taking a collaborative approach to crafting the circular, to ensure that the final policy strikes a balance between protecting consumers and preserving access to digital payments for licensed businesses,” it said.
In Wednesday’s statement, Mr Villanueva highlighted the need for a balanced, collaborative regulatory approach between all stakeholders.
“We remain aligned with the BSP in ensuring that access to payment channels for online licensed gaming is strictly controlled, and that all FinTech Alliance members adopt robust due diligence measures,” he stated.
According to the chairman, the members of the organisation are committed to enhancing due diligence for all accounts classified under licensed online gaming. Members will also promote awareness of gambling-related risks across its digital platforms, said Mr Villanueva.
Earlier this week, the head of the Philippine gaming regulator, Alejandro Tengco, suggested that the answer to concerns about online gambling within the country was tighter control, not a total ban.
In his Tuesday comments, Mr Tengco indicated properly-licensed online gambling brought in more than PHP100 billion (US$1.77 billion) annually for the country’s public coffers.
He indicated licence fees earned from online gambling were approximately PHP50 billion specifically in 2024. That was in addition to what operators paid to the tax authority, the Bureau of Internal Revenue.
The Pagcor boss also stated approximately 32,000 people were directly employed by the online gaming industry, with more working in ancillary businesses.
