MANILA, Philippines — The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is set to release a circular aimed at shielding users of digital financial platforms from the risks of online gambling, as part of its broader agenda to promote financial consumer protection and overall financial well-being.

In a statement, the BSP said it has circulated a draft of the circular to stakeholders and is currently reviewing feedback. Once finalized, the circular will require BSP-supervised institutions (BSIs)—including banks and electronic money issuers—to implement protective measures for users of their digital platforms. These may include imposing limits on access to online gaming services.

The central bank emphasized that the policy is being developed through a collaborative process to ensure a balance between consumer protection and continued access to digital payments for legitimate, licensed businesses.

This initiative follows earlier BSP directives targeting online gambling. In 2021, the BSP prohibited regulated institutions from transacting with unlicensed gambling operators. In 2022, it ordered e-wallets and other BSIs to remove links to electronic sabong (e-sabong) from their platforms, after the government suspended all e-sabong activities.