Philippines Reports Major Progress in Crackdown on Illegal Online Gambling
The Philippines Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) has reported significant progress in its campaign against illegal online gaming.
Cybercrime investigators in the Philippines have made major strides in tackling illegal online gambling, according to a new report.
The Philippines Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) has reported significant progress in its campaign against illegal online gaming. In a report released on Tuesday, the CICC and global TrustTech company Gogolook announced a “dramatic” 93.6% decrease in detected illegal iGaming URLs, marking “significant progress in the country’s fight against digital illegal gambling operations”.
The CICC operates under the Philippines Department of Information and Communications Technology. Taiwan-based Gogolook launched its Whoscall digital anti-scam app in the Philippines in 2023. Earlier this year, the government renewed its partnership with the fraud-prevention company, which also encourages Filipino internet users to report illegal online activities.
According to the Whoscall Scam Report, the number of gambling URLs fell sharply from more than 4,300 in the second quarter to just 275 in the third quarter. The CICC attributed this success to the government’s “intensified monitoring and takedown efforts”, as well as public awareness campaigns warning about the dangers of using illegal gambling platforms.
The third-quarter results, the CICC said, demonstrate that “our combined efforts with partners like Gogolook are working”. It continued:
“Illegal online gambling is not only a moral and social issue – it fuels financial crimes, data theft and money laundering. Every site taken down helps protect Filipino families from exploitation. The downward trend underscores the growing vigilance among Filipinos and the effectiveness of sustained information campaigns.”
In September, Gogolook founder and CEO Jeff Kuo told the Manila Standard that the Philippines – the “social media capital of the world” – is one of Whoscall’s fastest-growing markets. He also pledged to keep the “freemium” version of Whoscall available to users in the country.
“All the basic functions will be free for a long time,” Kuo said. “We believe anti-scam is a human right. Once we have the knowledge about scammers, we must share the basic protections for free – especially in the Philippines.”
Kuo added that tackling illegal online activity requires both consumers and government agencies to work together within a “shared responsibility framework”.
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