Recto studies stricter online gambling rules, higher taxes

Finance Secretary Ralph Recto is studying stricter regulations for online gambling, including higher taxes and additional measures to protect public welfare.

Recto mentioned that PAGCOR currently imposes a 30-percent fee on electronic gaming while the Bureau of Internal Revenue collects an extra 5 percent, making the total tax around 38 percent of gross gaming revenue.

The government is considering increasing taxes by approximately 10 percent based on gross gaming revenue to generate an additional PHP20 billion annually and proposing mandatory stock exchange listings for online gambling firms to improve transparency.

Proposed measures also include banning government officials from online gambling, requiring age verification through national ID systems for those under 21 years old, and taxing individual bets placed online as a means of disincentivizing unregulated gambling.

Recto suggested displaying warnings about the risks of gambling similar to cigarette labels, along with mandating the listing of online gaming operators for greater transparency.