CICC, Digital Pinoys forge joint effort to crack down on online harm and illegal gambling

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By TechWatch PH Staff

The Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) has formalized a partnership with Digital Pinoys to intensify the country’s fight against illegal online gambling and strengthen nationwide cybercrime resilience.

The agreement brings together government enforcement capabilities and civic-tech watchdog efforts to protect Filipinos from a growing ecosystem of online threats, from financial fraud to predatory gambling schemes.

Under the collaboration, CICC and Digital Pinoys will jointly identify, analyze, and disrupt illegal gambling operations that proliferate across digital platforms.

The partnership is anchored on the Cybercrime Prevention Act (RA 10175), anti-illegal gambling laws, RA 7925, and relevant regulatory frameworks from the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) and PAGCOR.

CICC will take the lead in enforcement-driven programs, including validating and acting on lists of illegal gambling sites, initiating takedown and blocking procedures, and conducting digital surveillance, research, and forensics.

The agency will coordinate with NTC, PAGCOR, and public telecommunications entities to implement blocking directives and will deploy a government warning or landing page when users attempt to access prohibited domains. It will also roll out capacity-building programs to further strengthen its investigative teams.

Digital Pinoys, for its part, will provide threat intelligence and verified lists of illegal gambling websites, ensuring all data meets cybersecurity industry standards.

The organization will also support CICC through technical training and knowledge transfer with partner groups.

All assistance will be provided free of charge, with no financial compensation from the government. The partnership is non-exclusive, allowing additional stakeholders to collaborate with CICC on public-interest initiatives.

Authorities emphasized that illegal online gambling is closely tied to financial fraud, consumer exploitation, money laundering, cyber-enabled crimes, and mental health risks associated with online addiction.

By combining enforcement and civic-tech monitoring, the initiative aims to disrupt criminal digital ecosystems, protect vulnerable users and minors, and strengthen the country’s cybercrime response.

The partnership is expected to lead to an increase in the blocking of illegal gambling domains and the introduction of a visible government warning page for users attempting to access them.

It will also improve coordination among law enforcement, regulators, telecom operators, and digital platforms, while raising public awareness and encouraging more Filipinos to report online harms.