The first time that Ana, a Filipino housewife, visited a gambling platform on her mobile phone, she was only looking to unwind for a little while. Soo

The most popular payment app in the Philippines has a side bet: online gambling

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2024-10-16 11:30:04

The first time that Ana, a Filipino housewife, visited a gambling platform on her mobile phone, she was only looking to unwind for a little while. Soon, she was spending hours on the games, placing bets through her GCash payment app, and losing more money than she won.

Ana, who asked to be identified by her nickname as she was embarrassed to be identified, told Rest of World she recently sought help from a gamblers’ support group.

“With GCash … it was so easy, you could access it anytime, anywhere,” the 46-year-old mother of three said. “After I won the first time, I thought the wins would continue.”

Online gambling in the Philippines surged during the pandemic, helped by the growing adoption of mobile payment apps such as GCash and Maya. With these apps, users could make instant deposits and withdrawals on popular betting websites that they previously could not access without credit cards. The mushrooming of online gambling platforms and lax regulations have encouraged a surge in gambling in the country.

GCash, in particular, with more than 90 million active users — or more than three-fourths of the population — has helped drive an increase in the number of Filipinos getting addicted to gambling, according to gambling support groups. The app features a games section, which connects users to online gambling platforms such as Bingo Plus and Casino Plus, and sports betting sites like Arena Plus. GCash also has a microloan feature, GCredit, which lends users up to 50,000 pesos ($880).