Just recently, the House approved the ban on POGO, but it turns out there’s an even bigger problem now, and that is online gambling that’s easily accessible to everyone. For those who aren’t familiar, POGO stands for ( Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator). They operated in the Philippines but catered to overseas gamblers. Unfortunately, they were linked to illegal activities, especially online scams and money laundering, which is why the government decided to ban them..
What led to the ban on POGO wasn't about or due to a situation of high rate of gambling addictions among Philippines but as a result of some scam, money laundering and other illegal activities that POGO were accused of. If it was gambling addiction only I wouldn't be sure they would have received a ban punishment. So I can't rely on the government banning the online gambling platform, GCash, due to gamblers getting addicted. I think they would need something beyond that to make such pronouncement.
It is not true that Pogo has been banned in the Philippines, when in the past, all Pogo's were owned by foreigners and in other countries gambling was promoted, the opposite is now what the current administration that has the government in this country is doing.
They just say that Pogo has been banned but the truth is that they just changed the name of Pogo, that's why the pogo system still exists today, it's even worse because unlike before, it's Filipinos who are playing instead of foreigners, that's why gambling promoters who are celebrities and influencers known on social media platforms have suddenly proliferated.