You open your phone to pay a bill. A few taps and scrolls later, and suddenly your screen flashes a set of cards. Blackjack. Poker. Slot machines. You took your glasses off, rubbed your eyes and put them back on, feeling unsure, because if you remember correctly, you’re on the GCash app. Or the Maya App. Or both.
Right there, in the same place you track your savings or send money to family, is an entire gambling ecosystem placed awkwardly at your fingertips. And it gives some mixed feelings.
Well, to some, it’s the kind of seamless experience that fintech dreams are made of. But for the other side of the coin, it’s quite a silent trap. Especially once you realise what it’s costing some people.
The Dark Side of Your Digital Wallet
There is no argument that GCash and Maya have helped millions of Filipinos to have easier access to financial services, but right now, they may have been a little too convenient. And I mean this in a not-so-really good way.
Yes, these platforms must be proud of their mission to empower the people in the Philippines. I am not denying that they’ve helped the unbanked open digital wallets, simplified remittances, and made everyday transactions quick and easy.
But I came across on LinkedIn on a post that is now widely shared, which mentioned that these apps (by GCash and Maya especially) also give quite an easy access to gambling. Not through shady external links, but through a dedicated space inside the apps, with games like Bingo Plus and Arena Plus sitting right beside it.
In fact, GCash now features over 10 gambling-related services through its Play and GLife sections, making it one of the most accessible gambling gateways in the country.
And unlike most traditional vices, this one hides in plain sight. There are no neon signs, no flashy casinos, no pit bosses watching. Just silence, repetition, and the ease of betting from your own home.
Gambling support groups have noticed an alarming trend. There’s been a significant spike in addiction, particularly among women. Many started playing out of boredom or stress, especially during the pandemic.
Plus, when apps like GCash offer credit, up to PHP 50,000, it becomes dangerously easy to chase losses with borrowed money.
To add some perspective, GCash’s lending arm, Fuse Lending, has disbursed over PHP 155 billion since 2021 to 7.8 million borrowers. And guess what? Most of it is coming from low-income households. Maya’s not far behind either. In comparison, it disbursed PHP 120 billion in loans by early 2025.
In fact, one of my friends that I asked (he’s a counsellor by the way), now advises people seeking help to start with a simple but drastic step. Delete the apps.
Big Money, Bigger Silence
Everyone seems to know what’s going on, and yet no one is doing much about it.
According to the LinkedIn post, even people at the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) have privately expressed discomfort. The BSP, the agency tasked with consumer protection under RA 11211, has been contacted multiple times (by Lim). But nothing seems to happen.
Since March 21, I’ve raised the issue through BSP’s chatbot, email, and phone. One rep said, “Yes, we’re also concerned,” yet the case kept getting passed around without resolution. (Lim said in his LinkedIn post).
Meanwhile, the business is booming. According to PAGCOR, online gambling revenues from its e-games and e-bingo skyrocketed from PHP 58 billion in 2023 to PHP 154.5 billion in 2024. That’s a 165% increase in just one year.
We, however, don’t really have the numbers on how much GCash and Maya are earning from their gambling apps.
Other countries have already drawn the line. Apps like Venmo and Alipay operate under tight restrictions and are barred from enabling gambling directly. But here in the Philippines, fintech firms seem to be slipping through a regulatory blind spot.
Some say gambling is part of life that we’ll never fully get rid of. So, if that’s the case, shouldn’t we at least be responsible about how it’s presented?
Well, I have a proposal. Sort of. It is not a million-dollar idea, but what if we (and by we, I mean Maya and GCash) separate the gambling part and the financial ecosystem far away from one and the other? Into two different apps, perhaps?
One app for financial tools like savings, payments, and investments. Another, entirely separate and regulated, for gambling. That way, the mission of financial inclusion stays clear and uncompromised. No mixed signals. No blurred lines.
I have heard some other suggestions on beefing up the current system with tools like AI monitoring, deposit caps, or pop-up warnings to help users stay in control. But even those measures might not be enough. As one wise-not-so-old man I know bluntly put it:
“At the end of the day, it’s a business. And a very good one.”
Kids, Casinos, and a Dangerous Normal
So why did I suggest a two-way model? Well, here comes the reason. Kids. Small, naive, “I just got my phone and my first bank account” kind of a kid.
And I believe this has already happened.
Lim shared one incident of a Grade 10 student who was able to open the GCash app, tap the dice icon, and access live casino games. All in just the blink of an eye. His dad, a fintech executive, was stunned.
And maybe that’s not a one-off. A study found that 43% of Filipino young adults aged 21 to 25 are already classified as “probable pathological gamblers”, with another 12% considered “in-transition gamblers”.
If that’s how easy it is for young people to access gambling, what kind of future are we setting them up for? Will they grow up thinking that placing bets is just another feature of their finance app? Are we educating them to save? Or are we teaching them how to spin the digital roulette wheel?
Let’s be clear, this isn’t an attack on GCash or Maya. I just don’t want this to be the future of finance.
These platforms have done a lot of good. But if they keep blurring the line between empowerment and exploitation, we’ll lose sight of what financial inclusion really means.
It’s time to ask harder questions. Should one app be allowed to help people save and lose money in the same breath? Should regulators wait for a crisis before stepping in?
Because when we ignore issues like this, they don’t go away. They quietly grow until someone you know (maybe even you) ends up caught in the trap.
For GCash and Maya, maybe think of other ways to incorporate these gambling apps? Please?
Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Malaysia, based on images by Freepik.
The post GCash, Games, and a Gamble Too Far? appeared first on Fintech News Philippines.
