Renowned Philippines anti-gambling campaigner and senator Sherwin Gatchalian has called on the government to seek more effective means of preventing illegal gambling sites of targeting Filipinos.
Despite the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordination Center (CICC) recently stating that it has blocked around 50,000 online gambling websites, of which between 95% and 97% were operating from outside the Philippines, Gatchalian wants greater collaboration with foreign agencies to address the issue at its root cause.
“These are like mushrooms – even if you block it now, it keeps coming back,” he said in a statement on Tuesday. “It’s never ending. The root of the problem must be cut.”
According to Philippine News Agency, CICC Executive Director Renato Paraiso has recommended appointing cyber diplomats to bolster international cybersecurity cooperation – stating that the Philippines is the only country yet to designate such officials.
Paraiso has also suggested expanding mutual legal assistance treaties with other countries to cover cybercrimes, noting that existing agreements address only traditional offenses.
Gatchalian was one of the key figures behind the ongoing senate hearings into the Philippines’ domestic online gaming, or eGames sector, which had enjoyed explosive growth in recent years before a series of regulatory restrictions were implemented in the second half of 2025.
A total ban on the sector had been raised as one possibility although Gatchalian has since eased such rhetoric and has instead supported regulation over prohibition.
Gaming regulator PAGCOR recently revealed that more than half of its gaming revenues, totalling Php53.3 billion (US$904 million), came from electronic and online gaming activities in 2025, including eGames, eBingo, and bingo grantees.
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