“As a policy, we don’t touch online gambling. It’s a prohibited category for us!”

This was the clear-cut response from my former colleague in the banking and finance beat, Jay Tirona, now the chief executive officer of NTT DATA Payment Services Philippines. He said this at the launch of ADAPTIS, their integrated online payment solution.

I spoke with Jay about this topic shortly after Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Eli Remolona suspended in-app gambling access on mobile payment apps and websites. This ban includes any product or service that redirects an account holder to a gaming or gambling site.

The order from the BSP requires Bangko Sentral-Supervised Institutions (BSIs)—most commonly, e-wallets like GCash and Maya—to remove all links to online gambling sites from their platforms. While this closes one avenue for online gambling, it may lead to other online settlement methods being used.

Yes, Virginia, while one puzzle is solved, this won’t stop online gambling operators, categorized as merchant acquirers, from using other licensed payment operators or acquirers, such as credit cards and ADAPTIS, the integrated payment solution from NTT DATA.

As a payment acquirer, NTT DATA received the notice and responded swiftly. “We received the notice and we replied quickly—online gambling is not in our category of services,” Jay shared, explaining that gambling is not part of their corporate DNA.

The BSP’s order is based on concerns about gambling’s influence on the country’s social fabric. In Gov. Eli’s own words: “We’re worried about the financial health of Filipino families and the harm gambling can cause to society.” I fully agree with the BSP governor on this point, as gambling impacts an individual’s values, norms, and how they interact with others and their community.

Andf, it’s encouraging to see the swift effect of the BSP’s order on the revenues of e-wallet providers. In less than a week, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) disclosed that online gambling transactions dropped significantly by 50 percent.

Despite growing concerns about the negative consequences of gambling on the country’s social fabric, Pagcor is advocating for more realistic regulations. It argues that a total ban would impact its revenue contributions to the national coffers.

Allow me to digress a bit. Did you know that gambling dates back to the Paleolithic period, even before written history? For Roman Catholics, gambling is personified during the Lenten season when soldiers gambled for the clothes of Jesus Christ while he was on the cross.

Online gambling, or iGaming, has been with us for just over 30 years. It refers to any form of gambling conducted on the internet, including poker and sports betting. Research shows the first online gambling venue opened to the public was the Liechtenstein International Lottery in October 1994. Since then, the market has evolved and is now worth approximately $40 billion globally each year.

Now, back to gambling revenues. Considering the dire straits of the national coffers, I understand Pagcor’s concern. It assists the national government through social responsibility programs like sports development, youth empowerment, and relief and rescue missions during calamities.

As a government-owned and controlled corporation, Pagcor’s income is remitted to the Social Fund of the President to finance priority projects.

The latest I’ve heard from the corridors of power is that new rules and regulations on online gambling will be drafted in consultation with concerned authorities. The goal is to balance revenue considerations with the effect on the social fabric. This will be implemented alongside stricter guidelines that the BSP is currently preparing for BSIs regarding their e-wallets.