What do you think about this move by the government? Will it significantly reduce gambling addiction, or will it only make the problem worse?
I’ve read the news and even watched the Senate inquiry on this issue. In my view, the restrictions may help reduce the number of people falling into gambling addiction, simply because it’s no longer as convenient as it once was. However, I hope the government realizes that this is only a short-term fix and not a comprehensive solution to the deeper problem of gambling addiction in our country. Hardcore gamblers will always find a way, many may turn to illegal betting sites just to satisfy their urge. In that scenario, the government loses twice: not only does it fail to curb addiction, but it also misses out on potential tax revenue from these underground platforms.
It might not be convenient for those who are not technically inclined, but still they can reach out to someone and help them play again. So I have said, Filipinos can still continue to play and gamble. But I heard on the news that the NBI (National Bureau of Investigation), are looking at the online access right now and monitoring everything.
Maybe that will be the next move by the government, perhaps they will block the online apps and their website so that there will 0 access for us. But who knows, we all know that gamblers are very resilient and could have found a go-around and circumvent this directives and still gamble any time they want.