Removal of e-sabong from apps of supervised entities ordered

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has ordered BSP-Supervised Financial Institutions (BSFIs) to remove all electronic sabong (e-Sabong) operators from the list of merchants in their respective online applications.

The BSP issued the order through Memorandum 2022-026 to all BSFIs following President Rodrigo Duterte’s directive to suspend all e-Sabong operations in the country effective 03 May 2022.

“The BSP reiterates that BSFIs should only deal with gambling and/or online gaming businesses that are allowed to operate by the appropriate government agency,” according to the memorandum signed by BSP Governor Benjamin E. Diokno.

The BSP also directed BSFIs to inform their clients who still have remaining funds in their e-Sabong accounts to transfer the funds back to their e-wallets within 30 days from the issuance of the memorandum.

After said 30 days, BSFIs are directed to disable the link between e-Sabong accounts and e-money wallets, including e-Sabong merchant operator accounts.

The memorandum also emphasized that BSFIs shall strictly observe customer due diligence, continuously monitor accounts and transactions, report suspicious transactions, and ensure that appropriate control measures are in place to restrict access of minors, government employees, and other prohibited players to online gambling facilities.