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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Villanueva hails takedown of social media pages promoting illegal online gambling

Villanueva hails takedown of social media pages promoting illegal online gambling

Published Jul 21, 2025 04:37 pm

At A Glance

  • Senator Joel Villanueva praised efforts to shut down influencers promoting illegal online gambling and renewed his push for a total ban through his Anti-Online Gambling Act.
Senator Joel Villanueva lauded the recent initiative of the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC), Meta Philippines, and advocacy group Digital Pinoys in taking down the social media pages of influencers found promoting illegal online gambling.
Senator Joel Villanueva (Senate PRIB photo)
Senator Joel Villanueva (Senate PRIB photo)
“This is a significant step forward in our campaign to push for a total ban on online gambling,” Villanueva said. “Public figures have a huge responsibility, especially when it comes to promoting what is morally right.”
Villanueva emphasized that endorsements of online gambling should be covered under the morality clauses in the contracts of influencers and other public figures to discourage such promotions.
The senator is the author of Senate Bill No. 47, or the Anti-Online Gambling Act, which seeks to prohibit all forms of online gambling operations in the country.
“Una po tayong nag-file noong 19th Congress. Sa mahabang panahon, para tayong nag iisang boses sa kawalan, kaya sa pagdami ng mga may panukalang itigil na ang online gambling at anumang uri ng sugal na lalong naglulugmok sa ating mga kababayan sa kahirapan at pagkawasak ng mga pamilya, atin pong pakatututukan ito ngayong 20th Congress (We were the first to file (this measure) in the 19th Congress. For a long time, it felt like we were a lone voice in the wilderness, so now that more are proposing to put an end to online gambling and all forms of gambling that further drive our countrymen into poverty and destroy families, we will give this our full attention in the 20th Congress),” Villanueva said.
According to reports, Meta took down around 20 influencer pages, some with hundreds of thousands to millions of followers, after receiving reports that they were actively promoting illegal online gambling content.
Villanueva is among the senators who are hoping that President Marcos bares his stand on online gambling during his State of the Nation Address (SONA) on July 28.
"Ang expectation ko number one, ma-ban nang totally itong online gambling dahil itong online gambling masahol pa po ito sa POGO (Philippine offshore gaming operators) e (My number one expectation is for online gambling to be totally banned, because this kind of gambling is even worse than POGO)," he said.

Related Tags

Joel Villanueva online gambling President Marcos Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC)
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