The Central Bank of the Philippines has ordered the removal of all links to online gaming sites from e-wallet platforms within 48 hours, the Deputy Governor announced during the first day of Senate hearings on the industry.

“We gave them 48 hours … to remove the links,” said Mamerto Tangonan of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). He added that the order was issued last Thursday morning. As a result, e-wallet providers should have ensured that such links were removed by Saturday.

According to local media reports, the order will prevent players from accessing online gaming sites through e-wallets but will not prohibit them from using e-wallets to make payments when accessing such sites directly.

The BSP stated that the purpose of these measures is to prevent unauthorized transactions and improve monitoring of the online gaming sector.

The Senate hearings on online gaming aim to determine whether to completely ban the industry or simply impose stricter regulations. PAGCOR has already ordered the removal of all outdoor advertising for online gaming and introduced advertising approval rules under a memorandum of understanding with the Ad Standards Council.

Senator Erwin Tulfo earlier said that the Senate committee will review four bills, three resolutions, and one privilege speech addressing the social impact of the online gaming industry, also known as remote gaming or eGames.

According to PAGCOR, the eGames sector generated gross gaming revenue (GGR) of US$2 billion in the first six months of 2025 alone.

Source