Philippines President vows to ban online gambling

Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte has announced his intention to outlaw online gambling in the Southeast Asian country. Duterte revealed the plans while presenting a budget for 2017, but did not place a timescale on when the ban would come into effect. According to local media outlet Inquirer, Duterte said online gaming companies “have no use” in the Philippines. “I am ordering the closure of all online gaming (firms); all of them,” Duterte said. The declaration comes after Duterte in August cancelled an operator’s 13-year monopoly on gambling in licensed cafes, citing the fact that the country has no proper way of collecting taxes from internet gambling and a rise in the number of youth participation as the reasons behind the move. “I was mad because even the youth are gambling and there was no way of collecting the proper taxes,” Duterte said at the time, according to the RT.com website. “I will restore online (gambling) provided taxes are correctly collected, and they are situated or placed in districts where gambling is allowed, which means to say, not close to churches or schools.” The Philippines was recently hit by an online gambling scandal after it emerged that more than 1,300 Chinese immigrants had taken part in an illegal scheme. Authorities arrested a large number of undocumented immigrants after a raid at Fontana Leisure Parks & Casino in Clark, Pampanga, with authorities in the country later announcing their intention to deport all individuals involved. Related articles: Philippines set to deport immigrants for illegal online gambling Philippines authorities arrest over 1,000 for illegal online gaming