In the first five months of 2025, revenues of online gambling skyrocketed to over ₱51 billion, marking an alarming epidemic that is gripping the Philippines. Let’s delve deeper into the psychological forces driving this addiction and how to break free from it.
Without the need for a brick-and-mortar casino, anyone can gamble at their fingertips as online gambling weaves itself into the fabric of everyday life, making it harder than ever to resist. Behind the seductive glow of flashy ads and empty promises for a quick fortune, online gambling is draining wallets and haunting minds. But what psychological game is being played to make players keep coming back for more?
The house always wins
Business is business at the end of the day. Just like casinos, online gaming platforms are designed to generate profit. According to psychologist J.B. Maverick, the house edge is the average gross profit programmed into every game to ensure the house always wins, typically ranging between 0.5% to 40% depending on the game.
Casinos never want to bankrupt players in one go. Instead, they are engineered to give just enough hope to keep people hooked for as long as possible. What many fail to realize is that a 5% house edge does not mean losing only ₱250 when starting with ₱5,000. In reality, it chips away at the total amount of money wagered.
For instance, if a player bets ₱250 on 50 roulette spins per hour, they wager a total of ₱12,500. A 5% house edge means an average loss of approximately ₱650 per hour that quietly multiplies with every spin as the game goes on.
Inside a gambler’s brain
Castle Craig, an addiction rehabilitation center in Scotland, discovered that the accessibility and anonymity of online gambling make it more appealing for players by removing the shame that comes with entering a physical casino and allowing people to hide their gambling activity from family and friends. Moreover, without the physical presence of cash, it is easier to bet on impulse as losses become more abstract.
The American Psychological Association revealed that gambling hijacks the brain’s reward system the same way a drug does by utilizing bright visuals, immersive sounds, and sudden rewards to release surges of dopamine, the neurotransmitter responsible for pleasure and reinforcement.
Luke Clark, a psychologist at the University of British Columbia, found that people with a gambling addiction exhibited abnormal brain activity presenting increased impulsivity and heightened reward sensitivity. This traps players into the gambler’s fallacy—leaving them to chase losses based on the illusion of control when they are actually the ones who are being played by the game and trapped into an addictive cycle.
All in on change
A 2023 Capstone-Intel survey found that 66% of Filipinos aged 18 to 24 and 57% aged 41 to 55 regularly gamble online, often spending ₱1,000 weekly. As addicts lose control, online gambling extends beyond individuals devastating families and stealing futures. It has infiltrated homes, schools, and communities in the Philippines under the guise of entertainment while misleading Filipinos into financial ruin.
The Philippine government must strictly enforce regulations that limit gambling advertisements, enforce betting limits, and require thorough player registration. Moreover, awareness campaigns and accessible treatment options must be implemented to promote early intervention and reduce public stigma.
The fight against online gambling does not require half-baked measures but rather a bold response to prevent more Filipinos from falling into the trap of addiction. This crisis demands a collective call to protect the vulnerable and restore hope in the lives of people affected by this looming epidemic.
