ON SONA 2025 | Inaction as the largest gamble

In the 2024 State of the Nation Address (SONA), President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. halted and banned the infamous Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO) that once started as an online casino, but took steps far beyond money laundering, cyber scams, even human trafficking, and prostitution.

As the SONA 2025 looms nearer, the stakes are higher as Filipinos turn to online gambling as a last resort to get by every day. This “game” has crippled homes and crushed futures, and we cannot afford to lose more. No nation wins if Filipino families are continued to be played on. 

They say a few hundred won’t hurt, but the same hundred lost to what is disguised as a “game” is the same hundred gained after jeepney driving, half-a-day road sweeping, and hours of banana que vending. The gambling manipulation reeks of greed. It leeches onto the most vulnerable and financially unstable laborers, workers, and citizens who hope, only to get deceived.

This whole gambling fiasco screams, “The winner takes it all. The loser’s standing small.” Between gambling operators and Filipino bettors, without a doubt, you’d know who’s who. The victor still stands, while the loser works to the bone. In fact, a Capstone-Intel survey raised concerns about the increasing engagement of Filipinos in this activity – 66% of youth aged 18 to 24 and 57% of middle-aged Filipinos are deemed to be regular bettors, with most of them spending a minimum of 1,000 pesos per week.

Guess what? This was the data two years ago. If it was this bad, what more today that gambling is patronized and normalized by influencers and the government? It has turned into an everyday entertainment that leaves Filipinos with nothing but mounting debts. What’s scarier is that addiction has undergone metamorphosis. Gambling is not the new normal of gaming; it is still the same vice as mahjong, but dressed in a red linen to make it look fancier.

It’s not the drunk and war-freak gambler making a scene in the casino anymore, or a rich man in a suit trying to waste millions in front of a slot machine or poker board. The new faces of gambling are youth with flashing phones in the middle of the night, a delivery rider betting his last money during lunchtime, and a sari-sari owner who just lost the entire store’s fortune.

The World Health Organization (WHO) reminded us that the accessibility of technology poses a higher risk of exposure to gambling. All it takes is to search Scatter, Bet88, Online Casino, OKBET, and the next thing you know, you’re plunging in deep, with loans rising, but savings decreasing. This is far worse than POGO. Online betting has crept into the hearts and minds of Filipinos. Such addiction results in financial stress, burnout, instability of relationships, violence, mental illness, and ultimately suicide.

With the worsening gambling woes, Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin was asked if SONA 2025 will be graced with a total online gambling ban. The palace answered safely, citing the need to weigh the pros and cons. Bersamin explained that they are looking into it: “We have to see all the ramifications that gaming of that method may be allowed to operate.” 

However, the government must realize that the odds favor destruction rather than development. If left unchecked, government inaction becomes the most dangerous bet—Filipinos become pawns on the table, and whether they win or lose, they must pay the price. Their lives become disposable and dispensable pieces of machinery that drive them to despair.

So, this July 28, the President must stand firm with their mandate to protect the people over profit. He must keep his duties in protecting the Filipinos and ensure that homes are protected and not destroyed by vices, that the youth focus on academic and recreational activities rather than corrupt practices, and that decisions are made for the benefit of the public good. 

In light of the matter, religious leaders also expressed their sentiment, emphasizing the need to protect families and younger generations from ideologies of money. The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) Episcopal Commission on Social Action Chairperson, Gerardo Alminaza, told Rappler that online gambling is a silent virus that corrupts the vulnerable with nothing in return but addiction and breakdown. Ironically, the Philippines, despite being surrounded by churches and chapels, remains the top Asian country where casino hubs thrive. 

Moreover, it is vital that the Anti-Online Gambling Act of 2025 is reviewed and passed as soon as possible. Under this proposed law, digital platforms must block gambling websites and remove relatives apps upon notice. Likewise, financial wallets such as GCash and Paymaya are also mandated to detach their systems from online gambling platforms and refrain from powering transactions related to it.

Several lawmakers, however, proposed regulation instead of complete termination. Akbayan lawmakers are pushing for a 10% online gaming tax through their filed Kontra e-Sugal bill. As much as the initiative still accounts for the welfare of Filipinos, the problem of online gambling is technical and personal at the same time. Mobile phones are personal to their users, and ‘e-sugal’ may be regulated, but there’s no assurance that bettors will gamble less, and the problem still lingers. Therefore, in order to address the root of the problem, we have to nip it in the bud.

On the other hand, some raise their eyebrows at the total ban, arguing it will cause hiccups in the Philippine economy. The total ban may hurt the economy, but we can’t say the same for POGO. How is it different? POGO, an already established mechanism even before the pandemic, already harbors hundreds of billions of pesos, but it has ceased. In the end, the cost outweighed the benefit, and most importantly, it is worth saving the Filipinos from drowning in the pit created by desperation and false hope brought by gambling.

One may argue that the revenue collected from fees and penalties can be used for government projects, but with the current system, does it really go to the public funds? The Commission on Audit (COA) has flagged the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) multiple times. In 2018, they were flagged for excessive spending, unapproved expenditures, and allowance of officials. They were also questioned about the undocumented and unliquidated budget for their classroom building program in 2021. The same is true for uncollected P1.38 billion receivable from POGO, revealed on the COA’s 2020 Audit.

While winning feels ecstasy, it distorts the vision of reality that no gamble is ever worth losing yourself, your family, and your sanity in exchange for a few pesos that can barely make ends meet. Gambling truly contributes to the economy—the economy of the rich. Profits gained from this industry flow upward to licensing operators, business owners, and service providers, but the regular, ordinary gamblers are the greatest net losers. The poor are not the beneficiaries of gambling; they are the casualties.

A total ban on online gambling is not an obscure directive; it is a precautionary measure against the looming backfire of gambling. If ever online gambling is banned, physical casinos still remain, and several illegal and unregulated sites will definitely surface. With 76 registered hubs, the fight is still far from over. But, at the very least, a ban will ensure that one tower will be torn down, one after the other.

The next time you have money to waste, think of the gambling lords who have nothing to lose but money to gain. Putting a peso into their pockets with the hopes that some money will go to yours is not gambling, it is a quiet thief that hijacks your dignity. As you click “Spin to Win,” remember that you are spiraling in desperation and curiosity, and the next thing you know, you’re back at it again because whether you admit it or not, it’s never an amazing world with gambling.

As long as online gambling remains, it will always cause repercussions beyond our expectations. The banners along EDSA, advertisements we see on social media, posters everywhere, anywhere, these are not temptations; they are invitations. If we continue to keep our inbox open for invites, we will surely receive and suffer.