Regulatory Board Warns About Foreign-Owned Live Streaming Apps Tied to Illegal Gambling

The Games and Amusement Board (GAB) has reiterated its crackdown on legitimate live streaming apps that carry illegal gambling content. 

In a statement earlier this year, GAB said it has partnered with major telcos PLDT and SMART, as well as the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), to start blocking apps that allow illegal gambling. 

“GAB will be relentless in identifying and shutting down these illegal sites. We are fully aware that these illegal operators put up new sites the moment we succeed in shutting down one,” said GAB Chairperson Atty. Richard Clarin.

While GAB has yet to name the sites, it noted these platforms were “foreign-based,” and “have been flagged and banned in other countries like Indonesia, India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh for the proliferation of indecent content.”

Some of these foreign live-streaming apps allow subtle sexy live streams, as well as illegal gambling. 

Clarin  warned that those who invest on these platforms risk losing funds, “as their hard earned money deposited in these sites for future gambling can easily vanish once these sites are shut down."

Clarin said illegal gambling has been associated with various societal problems, such as financial devastation, disruptions in family relationships, and mental anguish, and that the government seeks to address the fundamental origins of these issues to alleviate the adverse effects of gambling on the community.

Clarin also urged the public to report illegal content on livestreaming apps available in the Philippines.