Study: ‘E-sabong’ still around despite ban
STILL ACTIVE Research firm The Fourth Wall said that online “sabong,” which was banned in December 2022, remains accessible through unregulated gambling platforms, which require just an email address or phone number from participants. —Screengrab from Pitmasters
MANILA, Philippines — Online cockfighting or “e-sabong” remains active on unregulated gambling platforms more than two years after a nationwide ban, underscoring persistent gaps in enforcement, according to a report.
Research firm The Fourth Wall found that sites such as Jolibet and Okebet continue to host e-sabong matches, sometimes behind simple account registrations but often openly promoted.
READ: ‘It destroyed families’: The evil of e-sabong
Despite a ban in December 2022, the online cockfights draw steady traffic through active recruitment on Facebook, where agents use private messages and dedicated groups to invite players.
“Our latest report demonstrates how prohibited games like e-sabong remain easily accessible on unregulated platforms—even to high-profile figures—underscoring persistent enforcement challenges,” said John Brylle Bae, the firm’s research director.
The study compared regulated platforms such as BingoPlus, PlayTime, CasinoPlus, ArenaPlus, Bet88, OKBet, and 747 Live with unregulated sites, including PHDream, PHFun, PH365, Betso88, 1xBet, Jili77, and OkeBet.
More games
On average, unregulated sites offered about 5,000 games, roughly 72 percent more than the 2,900 available on regulated platforms.
Regulated platforms must also secure approval from the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. and submit games for third-party audits. On top of this, they need to follow strict player verification rules, requiring government-issued IDs, age checks, and sometimes cross-matching with e-wallet registrations.
By contrast, unregulated platforms often ask for just an email address or phone number from participants, some of them minors, exposing them to debts, scams, and privacy breaches from spam messages.
Payment modes
The difference also extends to modes of payment. Regulated platforms need to limit transactions and accept only widely used e-wallets such as GCash, Maya and QR Ph to comply with antimoney laundering rules. Unregulated sites, on the other hand, impose no transaction limits, raising the risk of excessive losses.
“The absence of safeguards in unregulated platforms highlights the need for targeted enforcement and public awareness,” Bae said.
“Our report shows that the operational differences between regulated and unregulated platforms do not just define how platforms function, but also shape the risks and potential harms players face, especially in unregulated spaces,” he added.
