The Philippine Department of Finance continues to study an excise tax on online gambling. Deputy Finance Secretary Carlo Adriano told reporters the agency is still assessing a possible tax, one of the instructions from Ralph Recto. Asked about the tax, he answered in one sentence: “We are studying it.”
The proposal has not left the department yet. Finance Secretary Frederick Go must approve it, and only after that will it go to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
Recto floated the idea in July 2025, when he headed the department. He is now executive secretary. At the time he proposed the tax against a backdrop of growing demands to ban digital betting nationwide, but left room for other measures.
The rate Recto wanted to raise is calculated from the gross gaming revenue of licensed operators. The state takes 38% of it, and an additional 10 percentage points would, by his estimate, bring in about 20 billion pesos a year (roughly $314 million at the Central Bank of the Philippines rate of 63.67 pesos per dollar on November 3, 2026).
Recto back then favored regulation rather than a full ban. The package included a ban on civil servants gambling, risk warnings, and age checks through the national ID for people aged 21 and under.
For operators and players, nothing changes for now: the tax is under study, not approved. No restrictions on platforms or players have been introduced, and there is no decision on the rate.
The department is also reviewing another exemption: duty-free imports of goods valued under 10,000 pesos (about $157). According to Adriano, the exemption creates a serious revenue leak, and foreign sellers may gain an advantage over local manufacturers. Any changes here would require a law.
No timeline for Go's decision has been given. If he approves the bill, the next step will be sending the document to Marcos.
