Cagayan de Oro City 2nd District Rep. Rufus Rodriguez (File photo)
MANILA – Cagayan de Oro City 2nd District Rep. Rufus Rodriguez on Tuesday urged the House of Representatives to muster enough courage “to put an end to the silent epidemic of online gambling.”
In a privilege speech, the Mindanao lawmaker told his colleagues that he could not remain silent as Filipino families are being torn apart and devastated by the digital plague of online gambling, including e-sabong.
“The numbers and stories paint a disturbing reality. Gambling, once confined to casinos and cockpits, now hides in our mobile phones — accessible 24/7 to our people, including children and the youth, often with no age restrictions, and just a click away from financial ruin. Today, any person, even a minor, can register on a gambling app, fund it through an e-wallet, and lose everything within minutes,” he said.
He cited a 2025 study by Digital Risk Observatory showing that an estimated 34 million Filipinos — roughly one in three adults — have participated in online gambling.
He said some 64 percent of surveyed users admitted to betting online, with many of them doing so daily.
“Around 30 percent of users are between the ages of 15 and 24, and many of them started playing before reaching the age of 18. Our laws and our digital systems are failing to protect our youth,” Rodriguez said.
The Mindanao lawmaker expressed alarm over how gambling is being vigorously promoted online.
“We see celebrities, influencers, even beauty queens, endorsing apps like Bingo Plus, ArenaPlus, OKBet, and Stake.com, enticing millions of Filipinos with promises of instant wealth. As of this year, over 15 top Filipino celebrities are directly or indirectly promoting gambling platforms,” he said.
He said the celebrity endorsements “are often packaged as lifestyle content, making gambling appear harmless and aspirational.”
However, Rodriguez said behind the flashy promotions lie broken homes, ruined lives, exhausted savings, and shattered futures.
He pointed out that no amount of money is worth the life of a Filipino or the happiness of a family.
Rodriguez acknowledged that the government is earning billions from e-sabong and other online gambling activities, but at a cost — from broken families, mental health issues, domestic abuse, and youth addiction.
“A financial gain for the few must not justify suffering for the many. Gambling is not a sustainable driver of development — it is a trap for the poor and a poison to our culture,” he said.
He urged his colleagues to act with courage and resolve and ban all forms of online gambling.
“We must act decisively. For the poor families in the barangays, for the children lured by flashy apps, for the victims of digital vice. We owe it to them to ban online gambling now,” he said. (PNA)