SENATOR Manuel “Lito” M. Lapid has expressed concern over the proliferation of advertisements on online gambling on different social media platforms in the country.
According to Lapid, presiding chairman of the Senate Committee on Games and Amusements, the young people who are exposed early to social media platforms such as Facebook, X, Instagram and TikTok risk becoming addicted to online gambling.
Moreover, Lapid warned in a statement recently that “this could also harm their values and morality if the government fails to act on it.”
He added that financial technology (fintech) firms, mobile wallet service like GCash and PayMaya, and other platforms could also be exploited for unbridled gambling activities.
“If the youth are getting away with playing online gambling, how can we raise them well and with good values in life? It is sad that our youth good manners will be destroyed by this bad habit and they may even bet their pocket money in school,” the senator said, warning that “if worse gets worst, they might learn to steal, like the characters in ‘FPJ’s Batang Quiapo.’” The latter is an action-comedy drama television series broadcast by Kapamilya Channel, a network operated by ABS-CBN Corp.
Likewise, Lapid conveyed concerns that “it is very easy to install applications on cellphones and other mobile devices for online gambling,” noting that “this is often overlooked by parents.”
“It is also very easy or accessible to register because only name and age are required,” he noted
Among the online gambling forms that young people are obsessed with today are poker, roulette, color games and others like in casino, the senator said, noting that because of this, he was “prompted to file a resolution seeking the committee to investigate the illegal gambling online and formulate a law to prevent or suppress it.