PAGCOR orders removal of igaming billboards
The Philippines’ gambling regulator, PAGCOR, has ordered all igaming operators to take down their billboards and outdoor advertisements by 15 August.
The order is partially in response to growing concerns over the dangers of gambling addiction and its effect on vulnerable sectors of society.
The directive, issued on Thursday, applies to all licensees, suppliers, and electronic gaming providers. It marks PAGCOR’s first big move in addressing mounting criticism from church leaders and lawmakers over the aggressive promotion and increasing accessibility of igaming.
PAGCOR Assistant Vice Presidents Jeremy Luglug and Ma. Vina Claudette Oca signed the order.
A representative from the agency also confirmed that new advertising guidelines are being finalized in coordination with the Advertising Standards Council.
PAGCOR and the Advertising Standards Council are expected to sign a memorandum of understanding on 16 July. The agreed-upon guidelines are likely to ban gambling advertisements near schools, churches, and hospitals and ban such advertisements on television during prime-time hours.
The announcement comes just a day after the Fintech Alliance Philippines, a banking organization, said its member firms would enhance internal controls to curb excessive access to iagming.
Another major bank, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, also is reportedly drafting its regulations.
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