Online Casinos Declared Legal in Philippines
Legislators in the Philippines have clarified that online gambling is perfectly legal according to national law. Lawmakers verified that there are no Philippine statutes making online casinos or Internet gambling illegal.Representative Narciso Santiago wants to change that, and has authored a bill making online gambling illegal. Santiago's proposal would make it against the law for gambling sites to use the Internet to place or receive bets, or to send or receive information that aids in placing a wager.
Legal scholars point out that the Philippines government has not followed the US example of acting as if online gambling is against the law without ever passing legislation. By submitting the bill, Santiago puts the matter up for public debate, rather than just start prosecuting people as if the law had already passed.
Santiago's bill does give loopholes to horse racing and the lottery. Dan Pietra, longtime Philippines resident, asked, "Why are these forms of gambling not dangerous to children? Either there is a rule, or not."
Santiago justifies his new measure saying it is necessary to protect children and consumers. However, empirical evidence in several countries, including the US, suggests regulation reaches these goal better than banning Internet gambling.
