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President Marcos must carefully study first the proposal to ban online gambling in the country, especially its removal's impact on the nation and the industry, before coming up with a decision, Malacañang said.
President Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos Jr. delivers his fourth State of the Nation Address at the Batasang Pambansa in Quezon City on Monday, July 28, 2025. (Mark Balmores/MANILA BULLETIN)
Palace Press Officer and Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro said on Friday, Aug. 1, that Marcos also needs to determine where the problem is really coming from.
The President, she said, does not want to make a hasty decision about the matter.
"So, dapat pong aralin at hindi po dapat na ora-orada at mag-uutos agad na tanggalin agad iyan, dapat inaaral po iyan. Iyan ganiyan po kasi ang gusto ng Pangulo inaaral bago magpadalus-dalos sa aksiyon (This must be carefully examined. We cannot just order its removal instantly—it must be studied first. This is the President’s approach: study things carefully before taking any drastic action)," Castro said in a Palace briefing.
Although there has been clamor from several sectors for Marcos to ban online gambling as access to various online gambling platforms have been made easier for everyone, including the young ones, he did not mention any thing related to it during his fourth State of the Nation Address (SONA).
"As of now, maganda po kasi huwag tayo masyadong magpadalus-dalos. Minsan kasi nakikita natin ano ba iyong isinisigaw ng taumbayan pero iyong iba hindi pa po inaaral nang mabuti kung ano ba iyong magiging effect nito sa bayan (As of now, it is better to not make hasty decisions. Because sometimes we see that’s what the people are shouting for, but some have not yet studied thoroughly what effect this would have on the country)," Castro said.
"Dapat muna po malaman natin saan ba nanggagaling iyong kamalian doon ba sa licensed online gambling app o doon sa mga hindi lisensiyado? So, dapat malaman natin saan ba nagugumon ang ating mga kababayan sa sugal – doon ba sa mga iligal na gambling app (We must first determine where the problem really comes from—is it the licensed online gambling apps or the unlicensed ones? We need to know where our fellow citizens are getting addicted to gambling—is it from illegal gambling apps)?" Castro added.
The Palace official said the issue needs to be carefully studied, considering that immediate banning online gambling would potentially affect the licensed ones negatively.
"[D]ahil kapag nga tinanggal natin talaga agad-agad ang online gambling at maapektuhan naman iyong ibang mga lisensiyado, makakaapekto ba ito sa tulong sa bayan, sa tulong sa mga estudyante, sa tulong sa mga Pilipino (If we immediately ban online gambling, would it negatively affect those that are licensed? Would it reduce government aid, assistance for students, and help for Filipinos in general)?" Castro said.
"So, hindi po puwedeng mag-padalus-dalos ang Pangulo dito. Dapat aralin po dahil sa toto lamang po ang mga revenue po na ibinibigay ng lisensiyado na online gambling ay nakakapagbigay talaga ng tulong sa mamamayan ( The President cannot act rashly on this matter. It needs thorough study because, in truth, revenue from licensed online gambling provides real assistance to the public)," she added.
