Philippines Finds Casino Bets Behind Salon and Bakery Payments
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Deputy Governor Mamerto Tangonan described the findings in a Bloomberg interview published by The Straits Times on September 17. The central bank has released a draft circular proposing stronger checks on merchants using payment platforms.
The report does not specify how many of the more than 8,000 merchants were linked to casinos or when the account closures began.
PHP50 Payments After Midnight
Surveillance picked up businesses receiving thousands of payments, some as small as PHP50, after midnight and into the early morning. Investigators established that the transactions were casino bets, Tangonan said.
Small neighbourhood stores were also among the business identities used. Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) Chairman Alejandro Tengco said the gambling regulator knew about unregistered casinos operating behind ordinary business names. It is working with BSP.
Payment companies also use merchant aggregators to sign up shops in remote parts of the Philippines. BSP wants closer checks on the businesses joining through these intermediaries.
Under the draft, platforms would collect owners’ details and business licences, and build databases of legitimate merchants. Tangonan said payment providers could lose their licences after repeated violations.
“If there are illegal activities and you’re not able to stop it, then you are accountable,” he said.
The Earlier 48-Hour Order
In August 2025, BSP gave supervised institutions 48 hours to remove gambling links from their payment apps and websites. 15M checked the wording of Memorandum M-2025-029. It covers services that redirect an account holder to a gambling site. The suspension was to last pending the issuance and implementation of a policy on online gambling payment services.
The casino payments described by Tangonan raise another question: who is collecting the money? A business registered as a bakery or salon may have no visible gambling link inside a payment app. In these cases, thousands of small payments arriving after midnight drew attention to the merchants. Investigators then identified the transactions as bets.
For affiliates sending traffic to Philippine casinos, an unrelated business name in deposit instructions is worth checking with the operator. The recipient’s stated business was central to the cases BSP uncovered.
Industry Group Examines the Proposal
The EMoney Association of the Philippines said it was reviewing BSP’s draft circular and supported the central bank’s goals. Maya said it already carries out merchant due diligence and monitoring. GCash did not respond to Bloomberg’s request for comment before publication.
The report gives no deadline for the review or date when the proposed requirements would take effect. The closures concern accounts already shut; the wider merchant checks are still at the proposal stage.