Coins.ph Faces Reported Offshore Gambling Payment Allegations

Coins.ph has suspended several peso deposit services following a Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas directive to improve internal controls. Separately, an October 13 CoinDesk report alleges the exchange handled payments connected to restricted offshore gambling operators.

Good To Know

• InstaPay and PESONet deposits and QRPH collections remain unavailable.
• Coins.ph says trading, cash withdrawals, bill payments and QRPH payments continue.
• The company has not confirmed the gambling allegations or announced a cryptocurrency licence revocation.

Coins.ph Payment Restrictions Leave Crypto Trading Available

Coins.ph operates through two regulated businesses. DCPay Philippines handles electronic money and peso payment services, while Betur Inc. runs the virtual asset business. Restrictions affecting DCPay do not automatically remove authorization for Betur to operate a cryptocurrency exchange.

For customers, the immediate issue concerns funding accounts through particular banking channels. As of October 14, the service status page listed InstaPay and PESONet deposits under maintenance, while spot trading and outgoing bank transfers remained operational. An unresolved InstaPay deposit notice dates back to September 29.

Coins.ph says customer funds remain safe under BSP requirements. It has not given a public restoration date, although it says it is working with the central bank to complete the required improvements.

The gambling allegations concern whether restricted offshore gaming businesses accessed payment services. CoinDesk cited people familiar with the situation, including a source who suggested compliance failures could threaten the operating licence.

However, the public Coins.ph advisory identifies internal control requirements without naming gambling transactions as the reason. The available statements do not establish gambling misconduct or confirm suspension or revocation of the cryptocurrency exchange licence.

The regulatory distinction also extends to gambling payments themselves. BSP Memorandum M-2025-029, issued on August 14, 2025, required supervised financial institutions to remove links that take customers directly from payment apps or websites to gambling platforms within 48 hours.

That directive targeted gambling access features. It did not impose a blanket ban on every payment involving a licensed gaming business. Assessing the reported Coins.ph transactions would require details about the operators, payment activity and applicable restrictions.

Coins.ph terms also prohibit unlicensed gambling and certain unauthorized gaming activities. Those contractual restrictions alone do not establish whether the company processed the alleged transactions.