{"id":49465,"date":"2025-07-31T06:51:08","date_gmt":"2025-07-31T06:51:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/49465\/"},"modified":"2025-07-31T06:51:08","modified_gmt":"2025-07-31T06:51:08","slug":"no-tax-revenue-from-gambling-is-worth-destroyed-lives","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/49465\/","title":{"rendered":"No tax revenue from gambling is worth destroyed lives"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\"CBCP<\/p>\n

His Eminence, Pablo Virgilio S. Cardinal David, D.D., Bishop of Kalookan \u2014Photo from CBCP<\/p>\n

MANILA, Philippines \u2014 \u201cNo tax revenue is worth the shattered lives, families, and futures lost to gambling addiction.\u201d<\/p>\n

This is the statement of Cardinal Pablo Virgilio David on Wednesday as a response to the letter addressed to him by the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor) as it responded to the Catholic Bishops\u2019 Conference of the Philippines\u2019 (CBCP) denouncement of the proliferation of online gambling in the country.<\/p>\n

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The CBCP has remained firm on its stance to condemn the grave impacts of online gambling to many Filipinos, particularly to the youth. It also called on the government to ban all forms of online gambling as it described the growing addiction as a \u201cmoral crisis\u201d affecting the country.<\/p>\n

READ: Church stands firm vs online gambling, insists on total ban<\/a><\/p>\n

In a Facebook post, David shared the July 3 letter of Pagcor where it assured David that the Pagcor and its licensees \u201care actively promoting responsible gaming because it is only by enduring the health and safety of our players that the gaming industry can be sustainable.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Pagcor assured David that it is not neglecting its duties and responsibilities, it noted that \u201cthe social risks associated with gambling can be addressed or effectively through a multi-sectoral approach because this is not a challenge that any single entity can solve by itself.\u201d<\/p>\n

In response, David acknowledged that addressing the gambling\u2019s adverse impacts to the country requires a \u201cwhole-of-society approach\u201d but he emphasized that the moral obligation lies within the government to not profit from gambling.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWhen the government acts as a promoter, regulator, and beneficiary of gambling revenues, it becomes complicit in the very harm it claims to guard against,\u201d David wrote.<\/p>\n

\u2018Not a necessity\u2019<\/p>\n

Pagcor noted that the shift to digital paradigm of consumer behavior since the COVID-19 pandemic prompted the agency to expand its jurisdiction over online gambling by providing guidelines that protest the welfare of both players.<\/p>\n

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However, David stressed that \u201cgambling is not a basic necessity\u201d even when the world turns into a digital paradigm, emphasizing that \u201cit is a vice that profits precisely from human vulnerability and loss.\u201d<\/p>\n

On the other hand, David hit the accessibility of online gambling sites to children. In its letter, Pagcor said that as it enforces a regulatory framework for accreditation of service providers where it requires basic information.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf there are children who can access online gambling sites, there is a high probability that those sites are the illegal ones, or that minors could be using player accounts belonging to adults in the family,\u201d Pagcor said.<\/p>\n

But David said that the agency admitted that the children can still manage and access gambling sites, whether legal or illegal.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis fact alone shows how unenforceable online age barriers really are. Unlike physical casinos, the home itself becomes the gambling venue \u2014 hidden from parents and guardians.<\/p>\n

READ: Marcos still evaluating impact of online gambling \u2014 Palace<\/a><\/p>\n

Lastly, David reaffirmed CBCP\u2019s commitment to protecting the people from the dreadful effects of gambling, especially the poor and the youth.<\/p>\n

He also raised this question: \u201cWhat future do we build when we normalize and dress it up as entertainment?\u201d<\/p>\n

During his fourth State of the Nation Address, President Marcos did not mention online gambling despite roaring calls for its total ban. Palace Press Officer Claire Castro explained that there was no \u201cmissed opportunity\u201d for Marcos to address the issue as he continues to assess its fate in the country.<\/p>\n

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Ever since the start of the 20th Congress, several lawmakers have filed bills seeking the online gambling\u2019s total ban. \/cb<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"His Eminence, Pablo Virgilio S. Cardinal David, D.D., Bishop of Kalookan \u2014Photo from CBCP MANILA, Philippines \u2014 \u201cNo…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":49466,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[60],"tags":[97,259,260],"class_list":{"0":"post-49465","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mental-health","8":"tag-health","9":"tag-mental-health","10":"tag-mentalhealth"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49465","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49465"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49465\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/49466"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49465"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49465"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49465"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}