Digital Pinoys Raised Alarm Over Celebrity-Backed Gambling Giveaway

Digital Pinoys had expressed concern over the use of celebrity-driven social media giveaways to promote online gambling platforms, after influencer Ivana Alawi posted content involving an iPhone raffle tied to an online gambling page. The digital advocacy network said the approach shows predatory marketing characteristics and should be reviewed by regulators and social media platforms.

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Audience Growth Worries

Ronald Gustilo, national organizer of the Digital Pinoys campaign, raised issues on how gambling firms are employing social media in increasing their audience base. He said the promotion conditions a high-value giveaway on following an online gambling page, which in turn encourages audience growth for the operator.

According to Gustilo, the technique could be used to expose minors and other vulnerable populations to any form of gambling content. He added that such campaigns promote online gambling and ought to be scrutinized by regulators and social media companies.

He noted that the concern is not only about whether someone immediately places a bet. In his view, a giveaway involving 100 smartphones is designed to maximize participation, with the real aim being to quickly grow a gambling platform’s audience. Gustilo said each new follower becomes a potential recipient of future gambling advertisements, promotional bonuses, and betting-related content.

Minors And Wider Exposure

Gustilo warned that the use of celebrities makes the issue more sensitive because they often have millions of followers across different age groups. That, he said, includes minors who may come across gambling-related content even when age restrictions are supposedly in place.

The concern, according to Digital Pinoys, is that a promotion framed as a giveaway can still function as an entry point into gambling marketing. By tying access to a prize to engagement with a gambling page, the campaign may broaden exposure well beyond a typical advertising audience.

The group’s comments suggest that the use of familiar public figures can give gambling promotions a wider and more immediate reach. Digital Pinoys said that reach should not be overlooked when assessing the marketing approach.

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Call For Review

Gustilo urged the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp and social media platforms such as Meta to review whether promotional campaigns that require engagement with gambling-related pages are consistent with responsible advertising standards. He said the issue should be treated as one of consumer protection rather than simple online promotion.

He added that promotional campaigns should not encourage the rapid growth of gambling audiences through unrelated high-value prizes that appeal to the general public, especially young people. In his statement, he said social media platforms should not become vehicles for aggressive gambling promotion disguised as entertainment or giveaways.

Digital Pinoys’ appeal places responsibility on both regulators and platform operators to assess how such campaigns are structured. The group said the question is not just whether the content is visible, but whether its design pushes gambling-related material toward wider and younger audiences.

Consumer Protection Focus

The statement ends with a broader call for consumer protection to remain central to digital advertising policy. Digital Pinoys said marketing practices involving gambling should be reviewed carefully when they use prizes and celebrity reach to draw in followers.

The statements of the group reflect the increasing attention being paid to the promotion of gambling products via social media, where promotions are designed through the promise of a reward. This is one of the concerns of Digital Pinoys.

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Source: Journal Online