Unregulated

It does not seem that government is aware of the alarming dimensions of the gambling problem we have on our hands. If there is official awareness, there does not seem to be an effort to put together a comprehensive policy to keep a handle on this problem.

Gambling, especially online gaming, is now an addiction probably more widespread than illegal drug use. The social costs mount each day.

This rapid spiral of online gaming and gambling activity is driven by rapid digitalization, nearly universal smartphone use and the dazzling growth of financial technology (fintech) platforms. The gambling and gaming industry is now a sprawling ecosystem covering mobile gaming with in-app purchases, online betting and digital casinos, play-to-earn platforms including crypto-integrated games and remote gambling services (covering e-sabong and the POGO networks).

Before digital technologies, old-fashioned gambling was a rather cumbersome process. Jueteng collectors had to go around. Bettors had to go to bookies or cockfighting arenas to physically place a bet. It was easy to keep the underaged out. Today, all one only needs is to tap on a smartphone to fall into total gambling addiction.

Until a group of online “sabongeros” disappeared and were very likely exterminated, few of us had any idea of the scale of e-sabong and the vast amounts of money flowing into this system. Now we know. This particular activity has been banned.

We all know that prohibition is never effective. All it does is to drive the restricted activity underground – there to proliferate without any oversight or consumer protection.

More and more, we are now realizing the scale of what may be called a “consumer protection gap” that our policymakers need to address.

First, there is an appalling lack of consumer awareness about the “industry.” Many cannot distinguish between entertainment, gaming and gambling. The new platforms have insidiously blurred the lines through game mechanics and digital rewards.

Second, unregulated or poorly designed systems may encourage overspending, indebtedness and addictive behavior – especially among lower income users or minors.

Third, there is regulatory fragmentation. New platforms have left old policies behind. Consumers are left exposed to predatory practices by unscrupulous operators.

We need updated, encompassing and adaptive regulation that balances innovation with accountability. Mere prohibition is a lazy policy response.

More effective regulation should establish a clear distinction between gaming and gambling across multiple platforms. There needs to be mandatory age-verification to protect minors. We need to devise more consumer protection mechanisms such as limits on spending, self-exclusion options and behavior monitoring tools and transparency in digital game design. There needs to be more cross-sector collaboration between regulators, fintech providers, gaming companies, educators and civil society to establish ethical and safety standards.

We are facing a rapidly evolving and complex phenomenon in this regard. Our policy must be data-driven. Our regulation must be smart: respecting user agency, protecting vulnerable communities and yet fostering a responsible digital economy.

Blind spot

We wasted millions in taxpayer money on congressional hearings inquiring into how the likes of Alice Guo and Harry Roque managed to slip out of the country without any record at the Bureau of Immigration (BI). The hearings did not arrive at the truth that many have always known – especially the escapees.

These high-profile escapees knew the vulnerabilities of the BI. The most glaring vulnerability is that there is no integrated information system in this agency we rely on for our national security. In an age when we are able to fill our tanks using fleet cards, accumulate points on the things we buy and use credit cards for anything, the BI has no way of knowing who goes in and out of the country through the ports.

We are an archipelago with one of the longest coastlines in the world. For a small sum of money, a cruise ship can have the passports of its passengers stamped in any port without anyone having to appear before an immigrations person for verification. In the same way, a fugitive can get an exit stamp on his passport without the information transmitted to a central database.

We have a border kept open by corruption at the BI. For a price, one can enter and exit the country without official record. That is the small stuff. The more lucrative transactions involve residency visas that are scarce because a quota is imposed by law, work visas for foreigners involved in POGOs (even if these have been banned) and the hurried releases of aliens detained for violating our immigrations rules. The BI is like a smorgasbord of opportunities for the unscrupulous.

The procurement of a modern information system to integrate all movement across our borders is an urgent national security concern. But it has taken forever for the BI to upgrade its information system, either because of fighting over who benefits from the contract or because retaining our antiquated system is lucrative for some.

Over the past few days, the problems of the BI have again surfaced.

Last June 2, concerned employees of the BI wrote a long and detailed letter to President Marcos complaining about how the agency is being run. Strangely, the President dismissed the white paper because it was not properly signed.

But a career official of the BI, Gilbert Repizo, has elected to put a face and a name to the complainants. The matter is a national security concern.