Illegal Online Gambling in the Philippines thrives on Facebook

Small-time gambling pastime from the small streets called Ending has now gone to the online sites and is now proliferating Facebook groups, according to sources and our own investigations.

Several Facebook groups now run Ending games, where bettors try to guess the ending digits of the final scores of basketball teams playing at a specific time. Oftentimes, these involve huge amounts of money to win either an equivalent cash prize or gadget.

One Facebook Group we’ve seen has over 83,000 members with a vast majority actively participating in betting events and has dedicated a page for promotional purposes. (On a related note, you can now also send money via Facebook Messenger.)

Ending games, though, fall as a violation under Section 2-a of Republic Act 9287 or the Anti-Illegal Gambling Law, which states any form illegal gambling activity which uses numbers or combinations thereof as factors in giving out jackpots. Those who are deemed liable could be imprisoned for thirty days to 12 years, with corresponding fines of up to Php5,000,000USD 85,200INR 7,223,000EUR 81,150CNY 620,500.