Coins.ph Faces BSP Restrictions Over Reported Offshore Gambling Links

Coins.ph is facing regulatory action from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas amid allegations that the Philippine crypto exchange processed transactions involving offshore gambling businesses.

Since September 29, customers have been unable to deposit Philippine pesos through InstaPay, PESONet and incoming QRPh collection services following a BSP directive affecting DCPay Philippines, the electronic money issuer behind Coins.ph's peso payment services.

The restriction covers incoming transfers from banks, digital banks and electronic wallets, including services such as GCash and Maya.

Coins.ph remains licensed and operational. Existing customers can continue trading cryptocurrencies, withdrawing funds to banks and e-wallets, making QRPh payments and using other unaffected services.

CoinDesk Reports Links to Offshore Gambling Operators

The regulatory action comes amid a CoinDesk report citing people familiar with the matter who said Coins.ph had processed business transactions involving offshore gaming and gambling companies.

According to the report, some gambling operators began using Coins.ph after the BSP tightened rules around e-wallet access to online gambling in August 2025.

The central bank required supervised financial institutions to remove links and other direct access to online gambling platforms from their apps.

CoinDesk's sources said some offshore gambling businesses subsequently migrated payment activity to Coins.ph, where cryptocurrency and stablecoins could also be used for settlement with overseas partners.

These claims have not been publicly confirmed by the BSP.

Coins.ph Denies Knowingly Serving Gambling Operators

Coins.ph has rejected claims that it deliberately provides services to offshore gambling companies.

The exchange said it maintains controls designed to prevent such operators from using its platform and that it complies with requirements imposed by the BSP, the Anti-Money Laundering Council and other authorities.

The company said customer funds remain safe and stressed that it continues to operate as a BSP-licensed institution.

Coins.ph also said the central bank had instructed it to strengthen internal controls and that it expects affected services to be restored after the required changes are completed.

The BSP has not publicly explained the specific reasons behind the September 29 restriction.

Peso Deposits Blocked but Crypto Trading Continues

The measure is narrower than a suspension of the entire exchange.

Incoming PHP cash-ins through InstaPay and PESONet remain unavailable, limiting the ability of users to fund Coins.ph accounts directly from local banks and wallets.

However, crypto trading remains active, as do outbound cash withdrawals for existing customers.

The platform's status page continues to list InstaPay and PESONet cash-ins as under maintenance while most other core services remain operational.

Coins.ph operates cryptocurrency services through Betur Inc., while DCPay Philippines handles its regulated electronic money and payment activities.

Licence Revocation Has Not Occurred

One source cited by CoinDesk suggested the alleged compliance issues could ultimately be serious enough to threaten the company's licence.

No such action has been announced.

Coins.ph continues to hold its BSP authorisations, and the possibility of licence revocation remains speculation based on an unnamed source rather than a regulatory decision.

The distinction is important because the current confirmed measure affects incoming peso payment channels rather than the company's ability to operate as a cryptocurrency exchange.

For the Philippine iGaming market, the case highlights the growing importance of payment enforcement after authorities tightened access to regulated financial channels for online gambling.

If offshore operators have increasingly relied on cryptocurrency infrastructure to replace conventional e-wallet payments, regulatory scrutiny may shift further toward exchanges, stablecoin flows and the financial intermediaries connecting them to local users.