The central bank of the Philippines has ordered all e-wallet providers to unlink from online gambling platforms within 48 hours, according to information from its Deputy Governor during the opening day of a senate hearing into the industry.
“We gave them 48 hours … to take down the links,” said Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’s (BSP) Mamerto Tangonan in response to questions from the senate, adding that the order had been issued earlier that morning. As such, e-wallets must ensure such links are removed by Saturday.
“We’re removing the in-app links from the websites.”
As reported by local news outlets, the order will prevent players from accessing online gambling sites via e-wallets but does not prevent players from paying with e-wallets when directly accessing those sites.
The BSP has stated its intention to prevent unauthorized transactions and to improve monitoring of the online gaming sector.
The senate hearing into eGames is aimed at determining whether to ban the industry altogether or to simply impose greater restrictions around its operations. Regulator PAGCOR has already ordered the removal of all out-of-home advertising of online gambling sites and introduced rules around advertising approvals via an MoU with the Ad Standards Council.
Senator Erwin Tulfo previously revealed that the Senate committee will discuss four bills, three resolutions and a privilege speech addressing the social impact of the online gambling industry – also known as remote gaming or eGames. As reported by PAGCOR, the eGames sector generated GGR of US$2 billion in the first six months of 2025 alone.
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