CEBU, Philippines — A Cebu lawmaker is pushing for a sweeping ban on online gambling advertisements and promotions, arguing that the rapid growth of digital betting has made gambling increasingly accessible through smartphones and social media.
Cebu Third District Representative Karen Hope Garcia has filed House Bill 10982, or the “Online Gambling Advertising Prohibition Act of 2026,” which would prohibit online gambling commercials and marketing across social media, television, radio, print, billboards, websites and mobile applications.
The proposal would also target promotional activities involving influencers, content creators, affiliate marketers, celebrities and vloggers.
But the measure would not ban all forms of gambling itself.
What Garcia’s proposed law would actually ban
House Bill 10982 focuses on advertising and promotion, rather than making licensed gambling operations illegal.
According to SunStar, the proposed restrictions would cover gambling promotions appearing through:
- Social media
- Television
- Radio
- Print media
- Billboards
- Websites
- Mobile applications
- Influencer and celebrity endorsements
- Affiliate marketing
- Vlogger promotions
The distinction is important because the bill would not prohibit legal and licensed gambling activities such as casinos, PCSO lotteries and sweepstakes, horse racing and licensed cockpits.
In other words, the proposal seeks to make it significantly harder for gambling operators to market directly to potential players, rather than outlawing licensed gambling venues or activities.
Why the lawmaker wants the ban
Garcia said digital gambling has effectively put casino-style betting within reach of anyone carrying a smartphone.
She argued that online gambling can reach users through livestreams, promotional codes, influencer posts and other forms of digital marketing.
The lawmaker specifically raised concerns about the exposure of young people and vulnerable households to gambling promotions.
Her argument is that advertising can normalize gambling and make potentially harmful behavior appear like an ordinary form of entertainment.
Online gambling has become a major revenue source
The proposed legislation comes as the Philippine online gaming sector has grown into a major source of gambling revenue.
Garcia cited Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation figures showing that online gaming generated ₱201.12 billion in 2025, surpassing land-based casinos for the first time.
Online gaming accounted for more than half of PAGCOR’s ₱396.14 billion total revenues that year, according to figures cited in the bill’s announcement.
That rapid expansion is one reason the debate over advertising has become increasingly important.
The bigger the digital gambling market becomes, the more aggressively operators have an incentive to attract new users.
Influencers and celebrities could face consequences
One of the most significant aspects of the proposal is its focus on people promoting gambling, rather than only the companies operating gambling platforms.
Influencers, celebrities, content creators and vloggers who endorse prohibited gambling promotions could face penalties under the proposed measure.
SunStar reports that public figures could face disgorgement of payments received from prohibited endorsements and a three- to five-year ban on endorsing gambling activities.
That could have a major impact on the digital advertising industry if the proposal becomes law.
It would potentially force personalities who currently earn from gambling-related sponsorships to reconsider an increasingly lucrative category of brand deals.
Platforms and advertising companies could also be liable
The proposal doesn’t stop with advertisers and influencers.
According to SunStar, platforms, media companies, advertising technology firms and other entities that violate the proposed restrictions could face penalties of up to ₱50,000 per day, along with possible license cancellation.
The bill also proposes fines ranging from ₱500,000 to ₱10 million for violations, as well as possible imprisonment of up to three years.
Those provisions could make compliance a major issue for digital platforms and companies involved in online advertising.
Age verification is also part of the proposal
Garcia’s bill also seeks to strengthen age and identity verification for online gambling accounts.
The provision reflects a broader concern surrounding how easily younger users can encounter gambling-related content online.
Even when gambling platforms have age restrictions, advertising can appear in places where users of different ages are exposed to it.
The proposed legislation therefore combines advertising restrictions with stronger controls over who can access gambling accounts.
Cebu already has a separate local push
Garcia’s national proposal comes as Cebu City is separately examining restrictions on gambling advertising.
In August, the Cebu City Legal Office backed a proposed city ordinance seeking to prohibit gambling advertisements within the city, while warning that the measure needs to remain within constitutional, statutory and territorial limits.
The local proposal was authored by Councilor Joel Garganera.
The legal office supported the public-interest objective of protecting vulnerable groups but recommended narrowing the measure’s jurisdiction, particularly when dealing with online advertisements that can originate outside Cebu City.
That means Cebu is now seeing both local and national efforts aimed at restricting gambling advertising.
The legal challenge could be significant
Cebu City’s legal review also highlights one of the biggest challenges facing any attempt to regulate online gambling advertising: the internet does not respect geographic boundaries.
A gambling advertisement displayed on a social media platform may be created somewhere else, hosted on a foreign server and viewed by someone in Cebu.
The Cebu City Legal Office therefore recommended that the local ordinance focus on commercial advertising produced or distributed by entities operating within the city’s regulatory jurisdiction.
A nationwide law could potentially address some of those jurisdictional issues, but it would still have to account for foreign platforms, offshore operators and digital advertising networks.
The debate is bigger than gambling
At its core, the proposed legislation raises a broader question:
How much should digital advertising be allowed to promote products that can carry significant financial and social risks?
Supporters of tighter controls argue that aggressive marketing can normalize gambling and expose vulnerable people to potentially addictive behavior.
Critics of broad advertising restrictions could argue that licensed gambling is a legal industry and that regulation should distinguish between responsible promotion and illegal or predatory activity.
The proposed bill will therefore likely generate debate not only over gambling but also over commercial speech, online platforms, influencer marketing and consumer protection.
What happens next?
House Bill 10982 is a proposed measure, not yet a nationwide ban.
For it to become law, it would have to go through the legislative process, including committee consideration, debates and approval by Congress before reaching the President for possible signing.
Its eventual wording could change significantly during that process.
For now, however, Garcia’s proposal puts online gambling advertising firmly back in the national policy conversation.
And if lawmakers ultimately approve the measure, the effects could extend well beyond gambling companies.
Influencers, celebrities, social-media platforms, advertisers and even the way Filipinos encounter gambling promotions online could all be affected.
The bigger picture
The proposed ban comes at a time when online gaming has become an increasingly important part of the Philippine gambling economy.
Garcia’s argument is straightforward: if gambling can reach virtually anyone through a smartphone, lawmakers should also examine how aggressively it is allowed to be marketed through that same device.
The question now is whether Congress will take that argument all the way to a nationwide advertising ban.
Because if House Bill 10982 moves forward, the next big battleground may not be the gambling table—it could be the smartphone screen.
WWC ONE MEDIA J.M.D
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