Philippine Regulators Close Over 8,000 Merchant Accounts Linked to Unlicensed Online Casino Payments

Philippine authorities have shut down more than 8,000 merchant accounts for alleged illegal activities tied to unlicensed online casinos. Businesses such as beauty salons, bakeries, and small stores processed payments that were in fact bets on unregistered gambling sites, according to surveillance findings by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.

As reported by Bloomberg, some accounts handled thousands of transactions as small as PHP50.00 (US$0.80) occurring past midnight, when the legitimate businesses would typically be closed. Officials identified these as routes for consumer fraud, illegal gambling, and potential money laundering.

Official Positions on Consumer Protection

Mamerto Tangonan, deputy governor of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, outlined the central bank’s stance. “We want to protect consumers from online fraud, illegal activities and also from money launderers,” Tangonan said. He added that “You cannot expand digitalisation if people’s money is being stolen or they are being scammed.”

Alejandro Tengco, chairman and chief executive of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp (Pagcor), confirmed the regulator knew many innocuous businesses functioned as unregistered online casinos. “Unfortunately, we don’t have control over that,” Tengco said, while noting Pagcor is working with the central bank. Tengco had stated last month that a Pagcor app directing players to legitimate sites would launch before year-end.

Accountability Requirements for Payment Platforms

The central bank released a draft document requiring payment service providers to strengthen merchant screening. Providers must collect owner details and licence information, maintain databases of legitimate merchants, and face possible revocation of payment licences for repeated violations. “If there are illegal activities and you’re not able to stop it, then you are accountable,” Tangonan stated.

The EMoney Association of the Philippines supported the goals. “It is important that there is accountability from the industry to ensure that we have a safe digital ecosystem for the market,” a representative said in a text message. These steps mark a direct regulatory response to risks in the payments chain that enable unlicensed operations, with implications for how platforms manage merchant onboarding going forward.

Reporting: GGRAsia

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