A bill now before the Philippine Senate seeks to ban online content that promotes gambling or shows people how to gamble.
Senator Robin Padilla, sponsor of Senate Bill 2602, says reducing people’s exposure to gambling could reduce the potential negative impact of the activity; he expressed special concern for young people.
According to the Manila Daily Tribune, Padilla has linked gambling to addiction and crime and said it could “destroy the moral fiber of the nation.”
The bill would require the Department of Justice to restrict or block access to pro-gambling content, and leave compliance to the Department of Information and Communications and the National Telecommunications Commission.
It would also require service providers to disable any promotional content within 48 hours of a government order. Penalties for those who post gambling-related content include six months to a year in prison and fines of PHP300,000 ($5,392) to PHP500,000 ($8,987). People who accept commissions for publishing such content would be subject to up to three years behind bars as well as fines of PHP500,000.
