A review of Philippine online gambling indicates opportunities with new digital payment methods

The quarterly update by GambleDex iGaming Analyst, Stelly Lie, indicates that the Philippines is one of the most innovative countries for cashless payment methods.

“There has been a great rebound in gambling post easing of lock-down restrictions. There is a clear increase in players signing up to online casinos, which can be partially attributed to the popularity of GCash, PayMaya, Coins.ph and other banking options.” Lie said.

“Without these digital payment methods, I would doubt that any recovery in online gaming would have occurred.”

In recent years, the Philippines has been a leader in creating useful, safe and effective payment solutions. The pandemic has spurn the need for society to become cashless and this has turbo charged the popularity of using mobile e-wallets and cryptocurrencies.

Key payment statistics show for the period ending July 2021, Instapay volumes surged by 60 per cent when compared to July 2020. Similarly PesoNet volumes surged by 180 per cent for the same periods of July 2021 vs July 2020.

Another reason for strong uptake in digital payment solutions is due to the backing of the BSP. With government approval and strong regulatory governance, having a government backed payment system instills confidence among Filipinos.

“Consequently, we are seeing many players returning to playing at online casinos. The market is starting to seriously heat up, with several Online Casinos offering extremely competitive Welcome Bonuses.” Lie remarked.

“The best Welcome Bonus at the moment is by PNXBet. They are offering 100% up to PHP25,000. An unprecedented high bonus to Philippine players.”