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Elyssa Lopez · · 6 min readPH regulators scroll past online gambling ads on social media
Ronald Gustilo, executive director of nonprofit organization Digital Pinoys, believes social media plays a role in today’s online gambling issue. He says it’s “one of the factors that has not been cited as a major problem” when “it should be.”
While the government has temporarily suspended access to online gambling platforms via e-wallets and super apps, ads promoting these sites remain visible on social media. They appear on Meta, Google ads, YouTube, Rakuten Viber, and X, Tech in Asia staff from the Philippines have observed in the past two weeks.
X still prominently hosts online gambling ads. / Image credit: Tech in Asia
It’s a glaring oversight, especially when two out of 10 Filipino bettors say they learned about online gambling platforms on social media. That’s based on a survey by Manila-based consulting firm The Fourth Wall, which asked 1,250 Filipino online gamblers about the factors influencing their betting habits.
Only TikTok temporarily paused real-money gambling advertising in the Philippines, citing “ongoing regulatory developments.”
As laws meant to regulate online gambling remain pending, social media platforms appear to be in a wait-and-see mode before making any more moves to foil their advertising plays.
Gambling ads hop onto social media after ban
Philippine-based users scrolling through Facebook or Instagram are likely to see an ad from an online gambling platform. On X, the first one they usually come across is a video commercial from online betting app Casino Plus.
Online gambling ads are still present on X, Facebook and Instagram.
Ads shown on these platforms span from static images to short videos, with placement ranging from pop-ups to listings.
“With their ads leaving GCash and Maya, it’s only expected that they move on social media,” a senior strategist at one of the country’s top ad agencies, who agreed to speak on the condition of anonymity, tells Tech in Asia. “The goal is still be present everywhere.”
The ad strategist estimates that these firms allocate 1 million to 10 million pesos (US$17,404 to US$174,409) monthly for their social media campaigns.
Earlier this year, Google revised its ad policy to allow ads for online casino games, lotteries, sweepstakes, bingo, and sports betting on Google and YouTube in the Philippines, as long as they are from a “state-licensed or state-run entity.”
A Google spokesperson stresses to Tech in Asia that the tech giant “strictly [enforces] policies on gambling ads.”
Government agencies still soft on online gambling
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