AS SOON as he learned how virtual fruits could turn a P40 bet to P2,000, Victor (not his real name) took online gambling anywhere to pass the time — even inside the University.
So when the minutes dragged on during a faculty meeting at the St. Raymund de Peñafort building, boredom led the Artlets faculty member to slide his phone under the table and open the slot machine-inspired game “Scatter,” on BingoPlus, one of the country’s most popular online gambling sites.
One spin after another, fruit icons clinked and tumbled across his screen, teasing him with near-misses until the reels finally aligned and flipped his P200 stake ten times its worth.
But just as Victor readied his next bet, he realized an even bigger gamble: he was playing using the University’s Wi-Fi network, a violation of the Catholic institution’s ethical standards for its academic staff.
“It was already too late when I realized that I was connected to the internet through the Wi-Fi of UST. My initial thought was will the IT (information technology department) of UST detect my online activity?” Victor told The Flame in Filipino.
Under UST’s institutional standards of professional ethics, faculty members like Victor are prohibited from using any of the campus facilities for any purpose contrary to its norms and ideals as a Catholic institution.
The 2018 UST Student Handbook also prohibits any form of gambling within campus grounds and enumerates sanctions for erring students that ranges from suspension to non-readmission or exclusion.
However, despite the University’s policies, online gambling sites and applications remain just a tap away on most of its Wi-Fi networks, even as most online games are strictly blocked.
“I really just found it accidentally, but then I thought about why online gambling sites are accessible, while online games like Mobile Legends and Roblox are not, there seems to be something wrong about that,” Victor said.
From Aug. 15 to 20, The Flame tested 12 gambling sites accredited by the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) across Wi-Fi networks accessible to UST students and academic staff.
These gaming platforms were checked alongside four popular online games using open networks such as “VERITAS” and “Plaza Mayor,” University-wide networks that are accessible to enrolled UST students on campus, and the “Faculty of Arts and Letters” network, which can be accessed inside the Buenaventura Garcia Paredes, O.P., and St. Raymund de Peñafort buildings.
The Flame also tested other networks that used password protection within UST buildings, namely “Faculty Casting,” “Miguel de Benavides Library,” “UST Auditorium,” “Communications Bureau,” and “Plaza Mayor.
No restrictions
Two of the University’s internet Wi-Fi connections for students provide no restrictions to several online gambling sites and applications.
“VERITAS” gave access to all of the gambling websites in the list, namely CasinoPlus, BingoPlus, Ggpanalo, GamePH, Playtime PH, Piso Game, JUANPLUS, Solaire Online Casino, Megaperya PH, Go Play Asia, ArenaPlus, and Bet88.
Meanwhile, nine out of 12 sites were accessible to the “Faculty of Arts and Letters” network, with access blocked only to Piso Game, Megaperya PH, and Go Play Asia.
Fewer online gambling sites are available for password-protected networks. In the “Faculty Casting” network, four online gambling sites remain accessible, namely JUANPLUS, Solaire Online Casino, Piso Game, and ArenaPlus.
Online gambling sites could also be freely accessed in the following networks:
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Miguel de Benavides Library – Ggpanalo, Playtime PH, Piso Game, JUANPLUS, Solaire Online Casino, Megaperya PH, and ArenaPlus
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UST Auditorium – Ggpanalo, Playtime PH, Piso Game, JUANPLUS, Solaire Online Casino, Megaperya PH, Go Play Asia, and ArenaPlus
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Plaza Mayor – JUANPLUS, Solaire Online Casino, Megaperya PH, and ArenaPlus
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Communication Bureau – JUANPLUS, ArenaPlus, and Bet
88
However, accessibility was found to be more difficult when it comes to online games via UST’s open networks, “VERITAS,” “Plaza Mayor,” “Faculty of Arts and Letters,” and password-protected “Communications Bureau” and “Faculty Casting” networks.
Among those banned by these networks are Mobile Legends, Call of Duty, Genshin Impact, and Roblox.
However, there are exceptions. Thomasians itching to sneak a round of Mobile Legends, Call of Duty or Genshin Impact in between or during classes may do so via the “UST Auditorium” Wi-Fi.
Meanwhile, Mobile Legends is accessible through the “Miguel de Benavides Library” Wi-Fi.
For Victor, this raises an important question on the University’s principles and values as a Catholic institution.
“If Mobile Legends, Call of Duty, [and] Roblox are inaccessible inside the University, why are online gambling websites allowed?” he said.
“Sasabihin ng iilan nakaaadik ang Mobile Legends at nakasisira ng pag-aaral, ang sugal ba hindi?”
(Some will say Mobile Legends is addictive and would disrupt your studies, but is gambling not?)
Victor also pointed out that even if the government implemented restrictions such as identity verification and age limitations, its accessibility could still allow legal-aged students to register for online gambling.
“The accessibility [of the sites] is what’s concerning. It could give anyone the temptation to play because they know they could,” the faculty member said.
According to a study conducted by sociocultural research firm The Fourth Wall in August 2025, More than half or 55% of Filipinos claimed to be unaware of the legal risks associated with online gambling.
These risks were more evident in unregulated sites, where 41% of gamblers played excessively two to three times a week. A huge majority or 90% of them reported that they were able to join with little to no verification due to its lack of Know Your Customer (KYC) procedures.
KYC processes allow financial institutions to confirm their customers’ identity, financial history, and risk, which authorizes the site to protect them from financial losses and scams.
“[C]onfidence, fairness, and profitability matter more than platform features such as betting limits or affiliate programs. This explains why players, despite the uncertainty and uneasiness, continue to engage with these platforms as long as they perceive a chance to win,” said Fourth Wall research director John Brylle Bae.
The platforms also had inconsistent customer service, more lucrative marketing, and affiliate structures that could expose players to excessive losses, scams, fraud, and privacy issues from spam texts.
The Flame has reached out to the Office of Information and Communications Technology about the matter, but has yet to receive a response as of writing.
Office for Student Affairs (OSA) chief Asst. Prof. Jaezamie Ong noted that online gambling would unnecessarily use data through networks shared by tens of thousands of Thomasians.
“Difficulties would arise if just about anyone can access them (gambling sites). If I am sure that if you are responsible, those who have access knows their limits, why not? But unfortunately, there are so many things that would not happen. That’s happening right now, that once you are there, you cannot stop yourself anymore. I don’t want to give that chance,” Ong told The Flame.
“First, is it (online gambling) necessary in the campus? No. If not, why? It will consume signal data. We are already having difficulties because there are 40,000 of us here, and then they will grab a share of the data even if the school does not need it,” she added.
Asked if there is a plan to bar access to the gambling sites, Ong said: Yes, I know there have been talks about it.
Ong said no student has been brought to the OSA over online gambling, although she could not say if the same is true for local social welfare development bodies.
“If ever there will be, it is not the user, but if the lending of money is involved, which is very different,” she said.
Illusory reward
Bets in virtual gambling sites can go as low as P1, often with a minimum deposit ranging from P200 to P500. BingoPlus’ “Scatter,” for one, demands a minimum bet of P40, which can grow to thousands of pesos, depending on one’s luck.
Victor ought to know. He once flipped a P40 deposit into P10,000.
“My biggest bet was P200, then I won P10,000. But the most exciting part for me was my first bet. I only placed P40, then it turned to P2,400,” he said.
Still, Victor said online gambling has not affected his teaching as he avoids playing during classes and breaks, which he usually spends on student consultations or meals to regain energy for his next lecture.
But the case may be different for students, whose stakes are high since they are more vulnerable to the distractions of gambling.
Having access to such platforms within schools heightens the psychological risks posed to young people whose brains are still developing, according to Shiela Marie Manjares-Bulus, a clinical psychologist from the Mental Health Advocacy in the Philippines Psychological Services.
“If these websites are accessible through your school Wi-Fi, [it’s] more likely that the students have higher risk to develop a certain addictive behavior towards gambling sites,” clinical psychologist told The Flame.
This is common among young persons since their impulse control is not yet fully developed due to the ongoing maturation of the prefrontal cortex, she added.
Responsible for complex cognitive functions such as decision-making, social behavior, and emotional regulation, the prefrontal cortex typically finishes maturing at the age of 25.
If they don’t play their cards right, the youth is likely to be lured into addiction, given the “intermittent reward” offered by online gambling, Bulus said.
The psychologist noted how the gambling’s appeal lies in the illusion of “easy money.” While a quick win may initially motivate someone to keep playing, losses often push them to bet more in an attempt to recover what was lost, eventually driving a cycle that could spiral into addiction.
UST Department of Behavioral Science chair Prof. Gian Carlo Ledesma echoed this sentiment, adding that today’s students, driven by curiosity and desire for gratification, may easily be drawn to online gambling if such sites remain accessible through the University’s Wi-Fi.
“Since students of the current generation are innately curious, they have the tendency to discover and try anything that may offer pleasure, gratification, and enjoyment,” Ledesma told The Flame.
“It (gambling) can offer a kind of distraction that may easily start as a fun activity but lead students to develop addictive behaviors towards those applications, given the unexpected thrill that gambling naturally offers.”
No winners
If you start to feel restless, develop frequent urges to gamble and see the need to bet in increasing amounts for better satisfaction and to chase losses, it could be a sign that you already have a gambling disorder.
Citing the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Ledesma said these indicators could cause people to develop “risk patterns” once they go all in and succumb to these thoughts.
“Uncontrollable urges may also lead to financial burdens which will surely impact the biopsychosocial functioning of students,” Ledesma added.
Data from Fourth Wall’s study indicate that 44% of players were reported to have high-risk habits, such as placing higher stakes. Some of these players have quitted online gambling due to financial losses, especially in illegal gambling sites where there is no betting limit.
But the impact is not limited to students. According to the department chair, addictive behaviors due to online gambling may also affect faculty members’ teaching performance and mental health, especially with their financial independence to engage in such activities.
“When this behavior gets out of hand and reaches addictive levels, it may even be more detrimental for faculty members since they already have resources, specifically financial resources, to offer compared to students,” Ledesma said, adding that the circumstance may trigger mental health problems such as depression and anxiety.
Bulus echoed this, noting that though faculty members are older, the “easy money” offered by betting games may still lure them into addiction that may eventually affect their personal lives and their productivity and credibility as University staff.
She added that the consequences may even extend to the University as an institution.
“If these all happen simultaneously, they would see that their students’ academic performance decreased. Or worse, their mental health condition or problem would arise,” Bulus said.
“So, possibly, the question on the school’s responsibility to protect their students will be compromised as well,” she added.
Risks and revenues
While President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. banned offshore online casinos (POGOs) in 2024 because of ties to unlawful activities, many groups and experts have raised the threat of local platforms, calling for tougher regulation.
Even the Catholic Church share the same worries. Cardinal Pablo Virgilio David, president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, noted that the widespread rise of online gambling raises serious moral issues that far outweigh the revenues it brings into government funds.
“It’s clear that online gambling is no longer just a simple form of entertainment. It has become a deep and widespread moral problem, hidden behind the guise of leisure and technology,” he said in a Facebook post on July 8.
Currently, over 80 locally operated gaming platforms hold government licenses, with earnings from e-games now accounting for nearly 60% of PAGCOR’s income. License fee revenues are projected to reach P60 billion this year.
However, three days after Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) ordered e-wallet applications to take down icons and links to online gambling platforms within 48 hours on Aug. 14, PAGCOR’s online transactions reportedly dropped to 50%.
While these policies prohibit more users from playing in authorized platforms, there are still no legal measures banning students and teachers from engaging in online gambling inside of schools and universities.
Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian has raised alarm on the issue of student accessibility, saying that online gambling advertisements found on social media platforms, on top of easily accessible cash-in and registration options allow students and minors to partake in virtual gambling without adult supervision.
“Data from the Department of Education shows that there are eight reported data on learner gambling incidents from School Year 2020-2021 to the present, confirming that learners are actively engaging,” he said in a resolution on online gambling filed in July.
This happens despite Presidential Decree No. 1869, which bars individuals under 21 years old and students from engaging in gambling.
According to Gatchalian, the lack of specific penalties for establishments that engage learners and individuals under 21 years old weakens the enforcement of the law, leaving compliance largely at the discretion of casinos.
The Senate committee on games and amusements held a hearing in August to discuss four bills that seek to either regulate or ban online gambling.
“Our problem is, we were not ready. There is no regulation, and it is why people are gambling recklessly. There is no control of up to how much to gamble. Come what may. Entire salaries are being gambled. Anything is being placed as a bet. Even children are gambling now,” Sen. Erwin Tulfo said recently.
With several bills pending in the Senate, the Marcos administration has yet to issue a definite statement on whether to impose a full ban on online gambling or enforce stricter regulations.
Stricter measures sought
Both Bulus and Ledesma urged UST to implement strict measures on online gambling access, raising the need for technical restrictions to prevent access to gambling sites within school networks.
“They have to block those certain websites and bar the downloading in Play Store or the accessing of such sites using incognito (mode) to avoid compromising the free Wi-Fi intended for educational purposes,” Bulus said.
She pointed out that even if platforms like GCash and other financial applications have started blocking gambling
For Ledesma, seminars, counselling, and financial literacy sessions and mental health talks can educate students about the harmful effects of gambling on society, while internal regulations restricting Wi-Fi access send a clear message that such behavior is unacceptable. Providing stress management programs and engaging activities also helps keep students occupied and reduces their likelihood of turning to gambling, he added.
“The school’s facilities should not serve as avenues for students to access these sites, as this act may communicate that such acts are allowed by the institution,” the department chair said.
Victor knew that restricting Wi-Fi access on virtual gambling platforms would not entirely stop students from engaging in such activities, especially with the sites and applications’ loose regulations.
“I know they can still access during their own mobile data,” he said.
“But at least, they will be prevented from using the Wi-Fi access of UST to visit gambling sites and the temptation to engage in gambling will be reduced.”
Victor wouldn’t get a chance to play in the University premises again, but it’s a price he is willing to pay. F
