The persistent Gambling Culture among

Filipinos: Risking lives over a few pennies

of Luck
By Achacoso Mark Vincent , Lanzaderas Denzel,Moreno Paolo Josheph

Introduction

Gambling has been a component of mainstream Filipino culture, whether

buying its betting in lottery ticket, cock fight or playing jueteng this games are have been
an passion on every Filipinos[ CITATION Fla74 \l 1033 ] .Gambling takes place in any game
or practice in which, to win money, you gamble money or a valued object According to
Youth Gambling. It requires three elements to be present: an amount to be wagered,
risk, and prize. In the Philippines, gambling was believed to be already present before
the colonization of Spanish, Japanese, and Americans.

When the covid-19 pandemic hits in the Philippines several Filipinos

were caught doing some illegal gamble like cockfights, card games, and other street
games amidst covid-19 virus danger. In this paper we will study the gambling history
culture of Filipinos and why Filipinos gets addicted in gambling, risking their lives, and
not afraid of the danger that they might get infected from the covid-19 virus.

This paper shall discuss the persistent gambling culture among Filipinos
particularly, the paper shall answer the following questions:

1. What is gambling history in the Philippines?

2. Why Filipinos are addicted in gambling?

Review of Related Literature

Gambling in the Philippines

Pre-Spanish period

There are many several theories about the prehistoric of the Filipino people. One of the
foremost is the migration theory propounded by American archaeologist Henry Beyer. In
1565 Spanish colonisation, historians agreed that the Philippines islands had a simple
socioeconomic system that was appropriate for the small, self-contained communities
settled near lakes and rivers (Constantino, 1984). There are twelve to fifty barangays
who identified themselves through the name of the boats. Some historians argue that
Philippines was part of an active trading network in the region (Woods, 2005) and also
claims the country that is not drawn to the vibrant Southeast Asian trade route (Corpuz,
1997). The country was not influenced by the traditions of Hinduism, Buddhism and
Islam, except for the outermost islands in south where barter trade with the Chinese,
Arabs and Indians.

Spanish colonization

The gambling is already been there in the Philippines even previous to the Spanish
colonization. Gambling was introduced by the Chinese in the late sixteenth century and
due to the nearness of the two countries, many local Chinese would go to the
Philippines for the businesses and profit engaging in different trades and activities.
According to Antonio Pigafetta, he already witnessed bets being placed on cockfights
when Magellan’s ship arrived in Palawan in 1521.
Gambling became normalize in the forms of cockpits, card parlours, and billiard halls
during the Spanish occupation. Also lotteries and horseracing had been introduced
around the early to mid-19th century.

American colonization

The Americans was initially tried to ban gambling but around 1912 betting was re-
introduced. In 1930s, Americans normalize gambling for charitable purposes where
horse racing was allowed for the benefit of the Philippine Athletic Amateur Federation
(now the Philippine Olympic Committee). The organization called National Charity
Sweepstakes were head of the charity well then changed to Philippine Charity
Sweepstakes Office (PCSO).

Philippine period

The gambling activities in the country was took by the Philippine government. In the late
1976, Martial Law Era, the government created the Philippine Amusement and Gaming
Corporation (PAGCOR) to regulate the ten gaming casinos that existed before the pre-
EDSA era. In 1985, PAGCOR were expanded, the agency and casinos were constantly
improved unto the 1990s.

President Rodrigo Duterte initiated to mend the relations between the China and
Philippines. It is expected to increase the Chinese visitors in the country and possibly
attracts more investments. This puts the Philippines in competition with Macau and
Singapore to become a gambling hub that targets Asia’s rising middle class.

The government agency that organizes and conducts number games in the form of
sweepstakes and lottery games was the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office also
known as PCSO. The country do this in order to support and raise funds for health and
welfare-related programs.
Impact of COVID-19 on Online Gambling – A General Population Survey during
the Pandemic

There a severe impact on mental health and increased online behaviour and possibly
increased gambling problems during the COVID-19 pandemic. On the past years, the
problem of gambling has been reported to occur in between 0.1 and 5.8% of the general
population across different countries and continents (Calado and Griffiths, 2016).

Gambling during the COVID-19 Crisis – A Cause for Concern

Many people changed their daily lives because of the impact of COVID-19 pandemic.
According to Researchers, they have called for attention to mental health consequences
of the COVID-19 pandemic that may include addictive behaviours. There are many
causes while people really wants to play gambling because of the closing of casinos,
and cessation of sports may limit certain forms of gambling while internet gambling
remains available. Gambling can be caused a problem to individuals worldwide and is
linked to financial and mental health concerns (Anders Hakansson et. al 2020).
Discussion:

The Gambling History of the Philippines

Pre-Colonization Gambling

It was believed that gambling is was already present in the Philippines since
sixteenth century, it was introduced by the Chinese to Filipinos, because of some forms
of Chinese gambling is the same with Filipinos and trading or business was already
present even before the Spanish colonization. [ CITATION Gre91 \l 1033 ]

Figure 1 Portrait of Filipinos and Chinese Trade (Wikipedia)

Spanish Colonization Gambling

When the Spanish arrived in the Philippines gambling was already been in the
Philippines. Antonio Pegafetta, the chronicler of Magellan witness and made a
reference in his diary on how affectionate are Filipinos in gambling. According to
[ CITATION Gre91 \l 1033 ], when the Spanish colonize the Philippines they tried to ban
gambling, but later on become standardize, because they cannot control gambling and
the suppression made by the Spaniards has a little effect on the gamblers. Gambling
games such as cockfight, card parlor and billiard hall were popular at that time. In mid-
19th century horseracing, lotteries and even casino was been introduced.

The popular gambling game in that time was cockfighting, it was said that
almost every village has a cockpit and has an organized system like how it is going to
be played ,fees paid, days performed and other.

Two Filipino natives can be seen engrossed over a cockfight.

American Colonization Gambling

When the Americans came into the Philippines they also tried to ban gambling
but then decided to re-introduce in1912, because gambling can’t be controlled [ CITATION
Gre91 \l 1033 ]. They institutionalized gambling for charitable purposes in which
horseracing was allowed to help the Philippines Athletic Federation and other charity
organizations.

Modern World Gambling

After the beginning of independence from the American, the Philippines took
responsibility on the gambling activities. In Martial Law Era, Presidential Decree No.
1067-a, was signed by President Ferdinand Marcos and created the Philippines
Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) to regulate the gambling in the
Philippines. Legal and Illegal Gambling was present at this time.

Legal Gambling like Casino, Sweepstakes ,Lotteries , Horse racing betting ,

Cockfight and Illegal was street games like pusoy dos ,tongits ,mahjong ,jueting etc.

The Covid-19 in the Philippines

The Corona Virus also known as covid-19 that first started in Wuhan poses a
threat on the health of the Filipino people. The virus can be transmitted between people
through respiratory droplet and contact routes with high infection rate According to the
study conducted by WHO.

On March 2020 the government announces a lockdown and community

quarantine on different parts of the Philippines. Activities like celebrations and gambling
were ban and people are prohibited from going outside specially older people and minor
kids under 18 years of age anyone who will be caught doing such activities will be held
custody of the barangay or police.
Gambling in Pandemic

When the government issued a lockdown and ban on gambling industry many
Filipinos are still doing gambling activities whether its legal or illegal .For instance, in
Davao City a total of 427 identified cockfight attendees are been under monitoring
because of suspicion of infection of corona virus. There are 11 deaths recorded in April
that attended the cockfight gambling, it was also confirmed that there was an increase
of covid-19 cases due to the cockfight held in the region, According to Dr. Cleofe
Tabada.

Why Filipinos Gamble Amidst Covid -19 pandemic

According to Pamintuan, (2014), Filipinos highly believed that life relies of luck. Success
reflected to luck while failure is misfortune. Filipinos mostly rely on gamble to make money and
reduce boredom.

Psychology on why people gamble?

Gambling addiction is a mental health addiction that are similar to drug

addiction .According Dr. Honey Carandang a Filipino psychologist, gambling addiction is
often a "well-kept secret," with its symptoms not as the same and obvious as in drug
addiction. There are countless reasons why people gamble, depending on biological
factors, intentions and environment.

Biological Factors

One of the causes of people gambling are biological in nature, this includes the
physiology and genetics, since certain forms of gambling are like those in other
addictions. Brain research has found that victory in gambling can trigger a comparable
neutral reaction as when a dose of drug is taken by those people with cocaine addiction.
Compulsive activities have also been related to deficits in norepinephrine (a chemical
linked to tension and risky situations) and serotonin (a chemical linked to the
satisfaction and well-being) so a person has a higher chance of getting addictive of
gambling because it is in their blood (Tom Horvarth , et al 2004).

Intentions

A study conducted by the Addictions Foundation of Manitoba show there many reason
on whey people gamble. The reasons are the following:

 To relived stress and boredom

 Gives challenge
 To win money
 To escape problems from home, work and school
 To increase self-esteem or feel more power.

Environment Influences

“Are Filipinos natural-born gamblers ” written by Joel Tachuco and Marvin

Castell posed this question to the paper they wrote on 2004 ,in which they described
gambling as “habitual and pervasive social activity” from barrio to the most a prosperous
villages Filipinos are into gambling ,they observe the citing of abundance of legal and
illegal.

Summary
 Gambling games in the Philippines was believed to be introduced by the Chinese
because trading was already present at that time. When the Spanish arrived in the
Philippines, Antonio Pegafetta mention on how Filipinos love gambling. And when
Spanish Colonized the Philippines, they tried to ban gambling but later institutionalized
because gambling can’t be controlled. After Spanish colonization the American insular
government tried to ban gambling but later on institutionalized for charitable purposes.
At the beginning of independence the Philippines government took responsibility on the
gambling industry and created Philippines Amusement and Gaming Corporation
(PAGCOR) from the presidential degree No. 1067-a. When the covid-19 hit the
Philippines and endanger the heath of the Filipinos, the government tried to ban
gambling, prohibit people from going outside and social gathering. But many people
were still caught doing gambling activities. The psychology studies show that the reason
on why people gamble is because of biological factors, intentions, and environment of
the individual.

Conclusion

This paper shown the history of the gambling culture of Filipinos. It also show that
Filipinos rely on luck on the reason on why they engage in gamble.

Recommendation
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