Philippines senator believes prohibiting gambling ads could help prevent addiction and protect vulnerable people.
Philippine senator Francis ‘Chiz’ Escudero believes a countrywide ban on gambling advertising across all media platforms would be the “first step in a broader effort to reduce gambling‑related harm”, helping to lay the groundwork for future regulation.
Escudero proposed Senate Bill No. 2347, which calls for “firm, legally enforceable limits on how gambling platforms promote themselves”, banning their promotion on TV, radio, print, websites and on social media platforms.
Bill No. 2347 would prohibit gambling ads and promotions, ban the use of celebrity endorsers and influencers, disallow bonus incentives that encourage betting, and bar the placement of gambling content across online, electronic, and physical media.
Escudero mentioned on his ‘Chiz Wiz! Usapang May Laman’ podcast that the legislation will help to prevent problem gambling and protect vulnerable people. He said: “What is needed is a law on advertising because you need to regulate private companies here.”
He believes a gambling-related advertising ban must be institutionalised through legislation “to include the Ad Standards Council’s voluntary guidelines requiring members to remove gambling imagery and paraphernalia across all media platforms because they are not legally enforceable”.
The recent comments from Escudero continue a push from the senator to legislate a nationwide gambling ad ban in the Philippines to help protect minors and at-risk individuals.
Escudero added the country should move towards banning gambling advertising in a similar way to what it has with the tobacco industry, noting the bill proposed “lays the groundwork for a more comprehensive regulatory framework for gambling in the Philippines”.
However, some critics believe the proposed bill on a gambling advertising ban could become a self-inflicted wound in the Philippines battle against black market operators.
It also comes as revenue from the Philippines’ iGaming market has dropped by more than 40% in the first half of 2026, with the country’s regulator PAGCOR citing the economic uncertainty caused by global tensions in the Middle East.
