Online gambling could put PH back on dirty money watch list, BSP warns
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Eli Remolona Jr. warned on Tuesday that online gambling—particularly illegal operations—poses money-laundering threats that could land the Philippines back on the global “gray list.”
Remolona, who also chairs the Anti-Money Laundering Council, said the central bank was studying further steps to curb risks tied to online gaming, which he described as carrying “harmful aspects.”
“Basically, as before, we just want to put sand in the wheels,” he told reporters on the sidelines of an event organized by the Fintech Alliance Philippines.
“It will be resolved,” he added.
Remolona’s warning comes less than a year after the country was removed from the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) list of jurisdictions under increased monitoring, known as the gray list.
The Philippines landed there in June 2021 following revelations that $81 million looted from Bangladesh’s central bank had been laundered through Manila’s casinos, exposing some deficiencies in the country’s defenses against illicit flow of funds.
Since then, regulators have tightened oversight, progress that led not only to the Philippines’ removal from the FATF list in February but also from the European Commission’s “high risk” register.
The central bank, however, has moved to confront not only the money laundering risks from online gambling but also the financial ruin it can bring.
Last week, the BSP gave e-wallets a 48-hour window to remove from their platforms all links to online gambling.
The suspension will remain in place until the BSP finalizes the policy on online gambling payment services. Early this month, the BSP said it was in the final stages of crafting tighter payment regulations aimed at curbing online gambling addiction and shielding Filipinos from the financial harm it can cause.
The new regulations will include enhanced identity verification protocols such as biometric checks and facial recognition to ensure that only eligible individuals can use their funds for gambling.
The BSP also plans to implement daily transaction limits and time-based restrictions on gambling-related payments to help prevent excessive losses and impulsive behavior.
The rules will also require the availability of user tools that allow individuals to set personal spending caps or take voluntary breaks from gambling.
