Philippines senator says biometric verification will address gambling payments fraud

Some senators in the Philippines have positively received a move by the country’s central bank to address the challenges faced by banks and electronic money issuers in online gambling payments.

Recently, two lawmakers quoted by Philippine News Agency hailed the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) for proposing the changes all intended to control gambling payments fraud.

In a statement at the start of this month, the bank had announced that it was going to “issue a circular meant to protect users of digital platforms from risks associated with online gambling, in line with the BSP’s financial consumer protection agenda and financial health goals.”

“The BSP’s decisive action to tighten online gambling payment rules is a monumental step toward the responsible use of digital services, “one Senator Sherwin Gatchalian is quoted as saying.

“Daily caps, time limits, and biometric verification can help curb the alarming rise of gambling addiction, especially among the youth” he added, noting that the BSP reforms are in tandem with efforts by the legislative body to put online gambling irregularities under control.

Gatchalian also went a step further in making a call for a total ban on gambling activities in the country.

In a related move, the Department of Information and Communications Technology is also working with social media influencers to ensure the removal of gambling-related content from their spaces, something that has also attracted approbation from lawmakers.

To Senator Pia Cayetano, “these actions send the right signal —that promoting gambling is not acceptable, especially when it targets our most vulnerable sectors.”

She bemoaned the negative toll gambling has on students and workers in the country, saying they bet away their allowances and earnings with risks of addiction, debts and distress.

The BSP says it has already circulated the policy draft and is reviewing feedback because it wants the policy to strike “a balance between protecting consumers and preserving access to digital payments for licensed businesses.”

Gambling payments fraud is growing worldwide especially as fraudsters continue to use sophisticated AI tools to bypass KYC systems. Between 2022 and 2024, online gambling fraud rose by 74 percent with an estimated $1billion in annual losses, pushing industry operators to consider biometric identity verification.

A Filipino senator also recently introduced a bill to amend the national ID law over issues of data privacy and identity theft.

Article Topics

biometric authentication  |  biometrics  |  digital ID  |  digital payments  |  gambling  |  identity verification  |  KYC  |  PhilID  |  Philippines