Anti-online gambling bill pushed anew amid resurgence of e-sabong

Senator Alan Peter Cayetano has called for the swift passage of the Anti-Online Gambling Act amidst persistent reports of e-sabong operations continuing in the country despite this being suspended by Malacañang.

“The pull of gambling, especially over the internet, makes it more alluring for our kababayan who cannot help but engage in such activities desperately hoping to immediately win large sums of money,” Cayetano lamented.

“Online gambling platforms such as e-sabong have demonstrated how it can destroy the moral fiber of our nation,” he added.

During the Senate Committee on Games and Amusement’s hearing on Thursday, January 25, authorities revealed how online “sabong” or cockfight once again resurfaced and continues to thrive and evolve into smaller, more clandestine operations.

The Senate, in 2022, launched an inquiry into the disappearances of cockfighters and other issues linked to e-sabong. Senators have then called for the prohibition of all forms of online gambling and penalizing online betting.

Then President Rodrigo Duterte had terminated the operations of e-sabong, citing its “social impact” on the people. Duterte’s policy against e-sabong was continued by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who ordered its continued suspension in December 2022.

In upholding his firm stance against e-sabong and all forms of gambling, Cayetano noted that everyone has a “moral obligation” to prevent the erosion of Filipino values.

“It is our duty as God-fearing people to raise future generations in a morally upright environment, and to protect them from the evils and dangers that come with gambling, greed, and all the other vices that go along with it,” he said.