ONLINE GAMBLING: The Bet that Loses Philippine Morals

    BINGO!! 🤑💸 How much do you truly know about online gambling?🤔💰 If none, we hope that this blog helps you open your perspective more into the mysterious world of online gambling and its risks! As you embark on this insightful journey and learn more about how gambling impacts the current Filipino youth, group 2 greets you a warm welcome as you read on the contents of this blog!✨

My name is Kirk Benedict J. Botona, a grade 11. Ateneo student from section Hurtado. Although I myself don't have any direct experience in online gambling, I do have friends and family who have experienced its impacts first hand. Additionally, I have also read articles on the matter stating that its impacts have seriously corrupted Filipino morals. When I relate this to my relatives who have previously gambled, plenty of them share the same sentiment. This leads me to the issue at hand: If online gambling really were as demoralizing as the government says it is, should there be more of an active effort made to ban or control it? Given that more Filipinos are gaining access to technology, more people could fall into the rabbit hole of gambling addiction and risk losing their money. Even worse, this growing engagement with gambling could signal its normalization within society and become a frequent practice among youth. I firmly believe that there should be an active effort made to ban online gambling in the Philippines as it risks spreading unhealthy practices among civilians. I truly hope that we as Filipinos spread more awareness around this issue. We must not fall into the trap of addiction where we sacrifice our dignity and money.

Written by: Kirk Benedict J. Botona

                                                                                        

I am Gemarie A. Tamon, a grade 11 student from section Hurtado who currently study at Ateneo de Davao University Senior High School. Throughout my life, I have met some people who were into online gambling, and I have seen how they won and lost. I was amazed at first because it was such an easy way to earn more money, but I realized that it was also taking it away from us. There were some people that had encouraged me to try, however I disregarded the idea because I know that it will not do any good to me. Nowadays, online gambling is a really concerning issue. I have seen its effects on our society and by the looks of it, it's not doing well. Furthermore, not only the adults are using it, but also teenagers. That is why I agree on implementing a law that would ban it because a lot will be saved from losing their money on a useless thing. Thus, if you're someone who's engaging in this, stop it. Online gambling is not good and instead of putting a bet, just save it.

Written by: Gemarie A. Tamon

I am Lyanna Dominique Roxine R. Buenacosa of section 11 Hurtado at Ateneo de Davao University Senior High School. Previously, I encountered a common issue about online gambling, especially amongst students and adults. Based on prior knowledge, gambling greatly contributes to the wellness of a person, especially in mental health, leading to serious problems. For example, a member of my family would bet their money on betting sites, thinking they would benefit and make very good use of their money. Online gambling is famous within online platforms since celebrities promote it in different social media apps and platforms, which makes it easier for people to engage with it. It makes people bet their own money as they would gamble it with the intention of earning double or more than the money they put in, but there are also instances that you lose and would never get your money back, which leads to addiction. These are some factors that result in serious gambling problems that affect your daily life and mental state. This makes me oppose the idea of promoting and generally having online gambling sites and apps. I am looking forward to seeing a change in the system of online gambling, reducing the risks of having more people get affected because of it. It is important to spread positivity and avoid taking risks.

Written by: Lynna Dominique Roxine R. Buenacosa

I am Jolrey P. Galia, grade 11 section Hurtado from Ateneo de Davao University Senior High School. I’ve been experiencing difficulties since the time that I got involved in online gambling. I've spent lots of money to where sometimes I'd win or lose money off that game. It felt good for me when I won at that time, but it's like you’re in a loop where the game refunds how much you’ve spent depending on the prize. Online gambling is very popular in our society right now, especially to the extent that we are approaching our greediness for our money. Ever since I got into it, I regret sometimes not buying things that I see in real life; instead, I spend it online just to lose it. But the way I got out of this is that I think more of myself rather than spending on something that can affect my future and my mentality. I often look forward to focusing on my goals and doing my personal things that can help me live healthy and to also have a brighter future that is not from online gambling.

Written by: Jolrey P. Galia

   In today's society, I feel that there is an increasing prevalence of online gambling among youths. There are instances where my friends and classmates would dabble in games like Scatter and Baccarat and often lose money between rounds. Whenever I see this unfold, I feel extremely terrible not only for my friends but also for society.
    To specify further into my experience, I encountered people—friends and family who participated in online gambling—who tried to peer pressure me into joining them. It came to a point where I almost considered doing it. However, after realizing how much money they lost, I felt discouraged and decided not to pursue gambling. This is where I began to realize that online gambling had such a big impact on people's lives in today's society—it would corrupt and demoralize our Filipino traditional values. That is why I firmly believe online gambling should be banned, as it leads to addiction and immoral practices.

    Overall, I believe online gambling poses a danger in today's society and to youth online. We must take a proactive stance towards this issue and protect our Filipino values. If we value profit and gain too much, we might abandon our morals, resulting in immoral practices, leading to a much more corrupt country.

    

    In the Philippine landscape, online gambling has become more of a frequent practice among the middle and working classes. Its popularity has prompted discussions about its risks and threats to the public and to the Filipino traditional values. The possibility that it could lead to addiction and demoralization has led to the government opening debates on its regulation and banning. Should we make more of an active effort to ban online gambling in the country? To understand more about this issue, we interviewed a student from Ateneo de Davao Senior High School.     Due to privacy reasons, the participant only agreed to be referred to as their nickname, Prince, throughout the entire interview. Prince spoke about his experience with online gambling in regards to our assigned social issue. Despite being underage, he was an avid user of online gambling platforms, dabbling in games like Scatter and Baccarat. It got to a point where his addiction caused him to lose real money. In response to these charges, Prince had become cautious and decided to stop gambling. His main initiative was to limit and control his spending until he could gather his insights regarding the issue, and he agreed upon banning online gambling platforms in the Philippines. He also believed that the act of gambling is addictive and it would financially destroy people's lives.     Overall, the main point that we could learn from Prince's story is that online gambling can still have the same level of detrimental effect on people’s lives as its traditional counterpart. Having these apps at your disposal could entail less supervision, possibly increasing the addiction. It's important that we continue to open discussions on these forms of social issues and learn how to regulate and handle them.

    I am currently writing this journal entry at 12:38 PM in the afternoon on August 26, 2025. Today I feel incredibly confident in my group's ability to write the narrative essay. Although I do admit that I felt the opposite last time we had group work, I realized that the key to good teamwork is communication. Two weeks ago, we were writing the opinion essay in Effective Communication and finished early. Compared to our group work in Written Works 2, the main difference in our teamwork was that there was a proactive stance taken to assign the workload equally to each groupmate. By doing this, we were able to replace our idle chit-chat with a more productive brainstorming session. I ultimately learned that communication and initiative should be present in each group planning. It allows students to effectively collaborate and create satisfying outcomes.

Written by: Kirk Benedict J. Botona

    Today is Tuesday, August 26 of the year 2025. I've been feeling kind of tired lately because we currently have a lot on our plate. All of the projects given by the subject teachers and the activities are clashing, and I'm having a hard time balancing them. I've also been meaning to do my hobbies, but then the hectic schedule won't allow me. In our subject, Effective Communication, we had a written activity individually and by group. I admit that I experienced challenges on both courses since I'm someone who can't crossly express my thoughts. I tend to find myself lost within a few sentences of an essay, but I still did my best to finish the given task. With this experience, I'll strive to improve more in the future, where I can finally relay my ideas freely. Furthermore, I'll be more open to communication in the group to improve our teamwork.

Written by: Gemarie A. Tamon

   As of August 26, 2025, I have been feeling great and happy, although there was also a time where I felt frustrated. I have been thinking of what I should do and eat after this class. I am excited to see my friend and hang out with them together in a peaceful place, probably in a café or drive a car with the supervision of our driver. The challenges that I experienced in doing the activity was trying to think of more words to say so I could expound more on the thoughts I needed to share. I should probably improve more on how to write essays and paragraphs so that I will not have a hard time. Doing the activity is fun because through being able to write the sentences that reflect my knowledge, I am able to show that I have understood and learned something about the topic, and be able to share my thoughts freely. I want to improve the way I manage my time and how I think critically, because sometimes my mind blanks out and takes the time that I need to actually do the activity. I want to try adding more specific details about the discussed issue so that my words and thoughts will be delivered to the reader more easily and be more understandable, not only when writing individually but also when I am with a group.

Written by: Lynna Dominique Roxine R. Buenacosa

    Today is August 26, 2025. I have been feeling very happy because of how nice all the teachers are here. I am also feeling very sleepy as usual; maybe I should have slept earlier. I am also feeling very joyful because I get to meet up with my friend today. I have had some trouble writing because I am very sleepy and tired, so it takes some time thinking. I feel like I have improved my writing skills because I can now write fast without thinking too much of what to apply. I also have a bit of trouble staying fully awake, so I may answer my journal. I want to improve my energy so I can stay happy and ready for my next task. I also want to try and learn to be a better and faster writer.

Written by: Jesus S. Dureza IV

    I am writing this on August 26, 2025. Today, I am feeling tired. I've been thinking of buying food down at the canteen. And also, I've planned on meeting with my friends. I've been facing difficulties for the past few days, having my muscles sore after I went to the beach with my family. And as I write this in my journal, I don't feel forced to do it because it feels like expressing what I am currently feeling, but I still have difficulties writing on my own. The way I compose my words and my handwriting feels short. That's why I need to improve on how fast I should think and on how to write properly in a paper. It feels good to be aware of these things, as it can help me the next time I am assigned to write something on paper.

Written by: Jolrey P. Galia

We sincerely give you our thanks and gratitude dearest readers! We genuinely appreciate you for taking the time to learn more about online gambling and its implications on the Filipino youth. Group 2 hopes that you take a meaningful lesson from this blog and take more of an affirming stance towards gambling and fight against addiction and its normalization within culture.