#89

It worries me that gambling is being marketed by these so-called influencers to kids and young adults. Most of my favorite Mobile Legends (ML) streamers have pivoted their content to slots (or "scatter") and sports betting. You can see billboards and online ads everywhere for this type of games, advertised by big names in entertainment (from TV stars to online personalities to athletes). Although I do not agree with an outright ban (just as I do not agree with banning marijuana, pornography, alcohol or sugary drinks), I do believe that there should be stricter regulation and enforcement in the field. We may have stopped offshore gaming, but how about games happening here within the country? How can we be sure that the same abuses are not happening in non-POGO but similar gambling venues? More than that, what are we doing to prevent kids from taking on this vice?

Although there is regulation by Pagcor stating that only persons twenty-one years of age and up can gamble through an online platform, the same regulation does not require age verification, post-assessment, or periodic review. It is therefore possible to just click "I'm 21 and above" and get access to these sites. Have we not done the same when whacking off to porn sites, playing M-rated games, or watching R18 movies?

I tried to play one of the online casinos being advertised by one ML streamer. There is already a red flag at the moment of registration: It states to click "submit" if you agree to their Terms of Use and Privacy Policy but said terms and policy are not linked during sign-up. Uhm, hello, Department of Trade and Industry and the National Privacy Commission? Moreover, the registration process did not ask for my age, which is another red flag. Their terms (which I eventually found at their home page, linked at the footer) do state that they "may" ask for proof of age if they suspect a user is under twenty-one. Yeah, right. How can you "suspect" something like that?

Worse, when I checked Pagcor's list of accredited service providers and online gaming platforms, this particular website was not listed there. When I took a look at other gambling websites being adverised by three other ML streamers, they are also not in the Pagcor list (and some of them do not even have terms of service or privacy notices, just generic "you have to be 21 and up to play"). Even Rivalry, which was a big name in MLBB betting a year ago, is registered under the Isle of Man Gambling Supervision Commission but not seemingly Pagcor.

Am I missing something? Is the Pagcor list not updated? Is there another list I should be looking at? Are these websites offshore gaming licensees themselves, located elsewhere but offering their services to Filipino citizens? Or are they just simply ignoring rules because no enforcement is going on? Well, that's brazen, both for the service provider and the advertisers.

Again, I do not believe entirely banning gambling: If individuals wish to sink their money to a deep hole, then so be it, but at least these are ADULTS who have full mental capacity to make their own bed. But when you involve kids who are easily persuaded and impressionable, well, there's the rub.

Anyway, ayun. Ang sahol lang ng mga "family friendly" or gaming content creators who pivoted to gambling. Alam mo na mga bata yung audience mo tapos magaadvertise ka nyan. Hindi pa accredited. Double whammy sa kalokohan. Advertisers of illegal products should also get some kind of penalty proportional to the compensation they got, or we risk having these people sell their souls (and vitally, their audience as well) to the biggest bidder.