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Betting on 'responsible gaming' as an innocuous way to entertain oneself is a fool's exercise, and content creators pushing for it may drive vulnerable people to ruin
Ivana Alawi is a powerhouse Philippine content creator with currently over 51 million Facebook followers, more than 24 million TikTok followers, and nearly 21 million subscribers on YouTube.
She has made a name for herself for friendliness and authenticity, and while that may be the case, she is now in the spotlight following a brand ambassadorship with Casino Plus to promote responsible gaming — or responsible gambling, as it were.
The premise is simple: Alawi purchases P4.28 million in iPhone 17 Pro Max units — 100 in all — and has a promotion to give them away for free. All you have to do is follow her “CP Fam” at Casino Plus, and comment in the right post to be part of the eventual drawing of the iPhone winners.
As of writing, there were over 24 million comments on that particular video post, getting Alawi a lot of engagement, and some 432,000 comments on the Casino Plus post asking people what color iPhone they want.
The number of comments would indicate that Casino Plus has garnered a following as a result, and at 2.8 million Facebook followers at present, they’ve certainly made a dent.
It’ll only cost you potentially constant exposure to gambling ads after the follow as a result.
Getting you on board was the easy part
The insidious nature of the onboarding process to get people gambling is simple, but takes time to complete.
It starts with a seemingly risk-free attempt to get you to join a promotion. That promotion, where you follow Casino Plus or some other gambling app’s social media account, will gradually introduce online gambling ads into your social media feed — whether it’s Facebook or a different sort of social media platform — and eventually get you to try online gambling.
The idea is that once you’re exposed to or eventually trying out gambling online, you’re more easily influenced into doing it again (and again, and again, repeat ad nauseam) at a later time.
The algorithms of social media platforms, such as Facebook or YouTube, will handle the erosion of your personal mental defenses. Since you followed Casino Plus as part of Alawi’s giveaway, maybe you’ll start seeing or expecting gambling-adjacent content to populate your Facebook feed, and that drip-feed of gambling content — which casinos try to neuter as “responsible gaming” — aims to wear you down through repeated exposure.
Leading the vulnerable to ruin
Content creators seeking a happy financial outcome might be buoyed by the online casino boom, but the business itself stinks, in the same way that Philippine offshore gaming operators did back in the day.
It’s just repurposing the same kind of stink to appear more fragrant, and masking the scent may make people who are vulnerable, whether through desperation or a predilection towards risk, want to strike out at online slots. I worry about this because while people can “gamble responsibly,” not everyone does, and not everyone can.
I say this as someone who avoids playing even videogames with paid randomization mechanics for acquiring loot (also known as gacha mechanics) because I am one of those vulnerable folks and I actively avoid paid games of chance when I can.
If I followed Casino Plus and their posts (or whatever gambling ad content social media might impress upon me) wore me down to try an online casino, I might spend an unsafe amount of money vying for a significant win, because my brain can obsess about winning in that manner.
Betting on “responsible gaming” as an innocuous way to entertain oneself is a fool’s exercise, and content creators pushing for it may drive vulnerable people to ruin.
Pagcor offers help, but is also part of the problem
In May, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor) announced it had set up the 24/7 National Problem Gambling Helpline to connect troubled gamblers and their families with counselors who may be able to help them navigate the treachery of gambling unabated.
Pagcor is part of the problem though, because while it regulates gambling, it still advertises it as “responsible gaming” while also acknowledging the problems of irresponsible gambling all the same.
As Pagcor Chairman and CEO Alexander Tengco said in a keynote speech for the helpline, “This National Problem Gambling Helpline that we are launching today reflects Pagcor’s commitment to ensure that the gaming industry remains productive, well-governed, humane, and accountable.”
“Pagcor is aware that for many, gaming is just a form of leisure and recreation, but for some, what may start as entertainment can gradually lead to financial strain and ruin, emotional distress, damaged relationships, and isolation,” he added.
Unfortunately, it aims to provide psychological support, assistance, and referrals to people they’ve infected with the gambling bug. This triaging of people with problems is itself a problem, and one that would be more adequately addressed if the country had a better social safety net.
That said, Pagcor and any regulatory frameworks — whether it be the Department of Trade and Industry, the self-regulating Ad Standards Council, or even the National Privacy Commission (Can you imagine the data privacy problems of online giveaways?) — that oversee paid online advertisements would certainly be better served if they took influencers aside and told them, “No,” instead of allowing said content creators to be the gateway to a world of chance and circumstance where the house always wins. – Rappler.com
