WORLD EDUCATION CONNECT MULTIDISCIPLINARY E-PUBLICATION
Vol. V Issue IX (September 2025)
International Circulation
This is an open-access, peer-reviewed, and refereed international publication in online & printed versions that features research papers, abstracts, theses, dissertations, and journals. It is registered to the ISSN National Center of the Philippines, and ISSN International Center, the Global Index for Continuing Resources with ISSN (Online) 2799-0842 and ISSN (Print) 2799-130X.
World Education Connect Multidisciplinary e-Publication, Vol. V, Issue IX (September 2025), pp.168-175
Authors
Aira Mae D. Lozada. Ruey Blasé B. Surio. Margiely Adrilyde A. Sombilon. Annabelle A. Dela Rama
Language and Literature Unit
Abuyog Community College
ABSTRACT
Through a qualitative phenomenological approach, this study sought to obtain a profound understanding of the lived experience of college students engaged in online gambling, and further determine how the said vice affect their academic performance and behavior.
Incorporating both operant conditioning and classical conditioning into our framework, these theories could explore both the reward-based mechanisms that sustain gambling behaviors and the environmental triggers that initiated them, providing a more comprehensive understanding of the processes affecting student engagement with online gambling platforms.
In contrast, Despite the increase of accessibility to online gambling platforms among students, there remains a limited understanding of how this engagement impacts the life and academic experiences of college students. Creating a significant gap in knowledge that prevents educators, parents, and policy makers in developing effective interventions and prevention.
To gather data, an in-depth semi-structured interview was conducted to 6 college-student-participants who do gambling online while schooling. The results revealed that online gambling is like easy money and fun, but it harms students more than it helps them. It takes time away from studying, wastes money, and creates stress and addiction problems. Students often start gambling for just an hour but end up playing for many hours, forgetting their responsibilities as students.
The study suggests that parents, teachers, and schools need to work together to help prevent students from developing gambling problems. Students need to understand that online gambling is risky and can damage their education and future success.
Keywords: online gambling, college students, academic performance, financial responsibility, addiction
INTRODUCTION
Playing a game of chance for cash or different stakes is commonly referred to as gambling, and online gambling encompasses a variety of gaming and wagering activities made available via devices with Internet access (Gainsbury, 2015). At its core, it involves taking risks and experiencing the thrill of fortune and probability. Gambling has long crossed cultures and generations as a form of entertainment. However, with today's technological advances, access to gambling has dramatically changed. For some individuals, it is simply leisure; for others, it can lead to unpredicted and harmful patterns.
With the widespread availability of smartphones and seamless internet connectivity, there has been an expanding trend of young individuals taking part in online gambling, which may adversely affect their academic achievement and financial management.
Young adult today is drawn to internet gambling platforms precisely because they are easy to access and convenient to use than previous generations. Digital casinos, and gambling apps are now just a tap away on devices that are constantly in adolescents' hands. Gambling is increasingly perceived by young adult as a normal part of everyday life. This normalization is heavily influenced by advertising, which often presents gambling as an enjoyable, thrilling, and simple way of earning money and socialize (Divonne Court, 2022). Many of these platforms offer a ‘practice mode’ where users win frequently, potentially misleading students into believing that they will continue to win when real money is involved.
The result according to a study of Walter (2015) reveals that young adult between the ages of 18 and 25 are one of the groups that have the highest prevalence of gambling addiction, with rates around 7.1%. Young adults today are drawn to internet gambling platforms precisely because they are easy to access and convenient to use than previous generations. This issue is also increasingly observed among students who are naturally inclined to take risks. When gambling becomes a habit, it may lead to missed classes, poor academic performance, and in severe cases, dropping out of school.
This becomes dangerous as it alters the mentality of students to aspire and finish their educational progress. Especially as they are in the higher level of education, leading several students to stray to the course of their success as their study habits and practices are gradually disturbed by the consequences of gambling. Spending a lot of time playing online games can negatively affect students' lifestyles in general. Every gaming session requires a large investment of time and money, making it difficult for students to effectively manage and control their gameplay activities.
The researchers seek to understand the experiences behind the use of online gambling among college students, what are causes behind online gambling that piqued the interest of these college students and how this emerging phenomenon became a part of their daily life as it became a habit.
Despite the increase of accessibility to online gambling platforms among students, there remains a limited understanding of how this engagement impacts the life and academic experiences of college students. Thus, this motivated the researchers to conduct a study on how online gambling impacts students' academic lives through phenomenological approach.
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
This study aimed to explore lived experience of college students that participated in online gambling activities and comprehended the impact of internet gambling on their daily and academic performance.
Specifically, this research sought to answer these questions:
1. What are the lived experience of college students in online gambling activities?
2. How does online gambling influence the well-being of college students?
3. How does online gambling affect the study habits of college students?
4. How does online gambling impact the perspective of college students’ financial responsibility?
5. What are the possible interventions to lessen the use of online gambling?
METHODOLOGY
Research Design This study used Hermeneutic Phenomenology approach to explore and interpret the experiences of college students who are engaged in online gambling, understanding how it affected their study habits and academic performance. Creswell (2007) noted “a phenomenological study describes the meaning for several individuals of their shared experiences of a concept or a phenomenon”. This method allowed researchers to explore how students viewed and integrated online gambling into their habits.
Research Participants. The participants were selected using snowball sampling from various departments within the college. A total of six student volunteers were recruited, comprising five males and one female. The inclusion criterion required participants to be students who were susceptible to the increasing influence of online gambling in the digital age. This approach facilitated the identification of individuals with relevant experiences to who can offer deep insights into the phenomenon under study.
Research Instrument. The primary research instrument employed in this study was a semi structured interview. Interviews were conducted by designated interviewers who constructed a predetermined interview question guide to obtain comprehensive understanding into participants' experiences on online gambling. With the consent of the participants the audio recorder is used to lessen the time needed for listing detailed and critical information.
Validation of Research Instruments. To ensure the appropriateness and relevance of the research instrument, the interview guide underwent face validation through the researchers’ adviser and research experts. This process involved reviewing the interview questions to assess whether they appeared suitable and clearly follows with the study’s objectives. The adviser evaluated whether the questions were understandable, appropriate, and capable of eliciting meaningful and in-depth responses from the participants’ experiences of online gambling
Locale of the Study. The research took place at Abuyog Community College where the researchers are enrolled. The researchers chose this locale because it gives a relevant environment for the participants as they are also students from the same institution.
Ethical Consideration. In conducting this study, strict ethical guidelines were followed by the researcher during this study to preserve the rights, dignity, and private data of every participant. Formal consent to conduct interviews within the community was secured by the relevant local authorities prior to the data collection process. All personal data, including audio recordings and transcripts, are safely stored and confidentiality was strictly maintained throughout the research process in compliance with Republic Act No. 10173, also known as the Data Privacy Act of 2012, all collected data will be handled with the highest level of privacy and security.
Data Gathering Procedure. The researchers obtained permission from the college president to conduct the study. A flexible interview script featuring open-ended questions was developed to elicit detailed responses. Interviews conducted at the participants’ convenience and conducted in private locations of their choice, ensuring privacy and comfort. The interviews were audio recorded with the participants consent. After the interviews, the researchers proceeded to the coding stage and transcribed all interviews verbatim to preserve the authenticity of the participants responses and carefully reviewed to ensure familiarity with the data.
Data Analysis. The process involved the use of thematic analysis to gain a comprehensive understanding of the lived experiences of college students who engaged online gambling and how it affected the study habits of college students. Following thematic analysis, the researchers transcribed all interviews verbatimly to preserve the authenticity of the participants responses and carefully reviewed to ensure familiarity with the data. Through this process, the study presented a rich and trustworthy account of how online gambling affected students' academic performance and daily habits.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Two primary themes emerged from the thematic analysis, exploring college students’ online gambling experiences and their broader implications. The first theme examines the Impact on learning and finances, encompassing both poor learning performance and financial leverage concerns. The second theme addresses the Influence on psychological and emotional well-being, covering the spectrum from stress and addiction issues to fulfillment and satisfaction outcomes. These themes authentically reflect the lived experiences of the participants. To underscore the depth and credibility of their accounts, direct quotations from the participants have been incorporated, providing vivid insights into each identified issue.
Figure1: Thematic Map
1. Impact on learning and finances
This theme highlights the participants experiences with letting online gambling into their financial and learning journey as college students. Using online gambling as a way to pass time but ended up in a state of addiction, which often leading to them being irresponsible and negligent with their learning and finances. Participant 3 said that “nag skip ako pag study para mag sugal online” (“I skipped my studies so I can gamble online”) indicating how online gambling becomes a hindrance to the actual responsibility of a student.
This observation aligns with the study of Silfiana et.al. (2024) that claims due to social factors and technological literacy, students are especially vulnerable to online gambling. Their scholastic and personal results may suffer because of the financial harm they frequently endure, which includes debt and decreased expenditure on necessities.
1.1 Poor Learning Performance
Most participants said that online gambling adversely affected their learning performance, making them inconsistent and irresponsible with their studies. This led to serious consequences that hurt their ability to maintain or improve their grades. Participant 2 disclosed: “nagka problema ako han acads, kay nag procrastinate ako, may time absent ako para mag online gambling” (“I have a problem with my academics because I procrastinate, there are times I am absent just to gamble”)
This concludes that gambling addiction results to restricted time for learning activities, leading to deteriorating exam results and overall academic performance. Avenyo et al. (2024.) This reflects how online gambling, despite being seen as entertainment, can seriously harm students’ learning and make it harder for them be responsible and to easily fail academically the more they continue gambling.
1.2 Online Gambling as a Double-Edged Sword
Online gambling is no doubt a window of opportunity for individuals that aspire for fortune to attain a good life. Online gambling leads to substantial financial losses, often resulting in changes to spending priorities, reduced savings, and increased debt (S. Marko et al., 2023). However online gambling is far riskier from what it can give to those who participate in gambling, while it is a fact that winners in online gambling claimed they win sums of money, yet they also confessed that they risk their allowance given to them so they can gamble and win huge amount of money and if they lose, they get nothing but stress. Participant 4 unfolded “I used my allowance and spent all my savings. I nearly forgot my priorities”. Reflecting that online gambling is not only a window for success but also can be leverage for financial failure or irresponsible use of money.
2. Influence on Psychological and Emotional Well-Being
This theme highlights the how addiction and satisfaction influence the well-being of participants that immersed their selves with online gambling. Participants 2 stated “pag mapirdi ako, na apektohan akon mood tas pag waray sa mood diri na ano naka focus” (When I lose, my mood is affected and when I am not in the mood, I can't focus on anything). This reflects how online gambling have altered what they usually feel before they immersed themselves to online gambling. The immersive, secretive, and fast-paced nature of online platforms can lead to impaired decision-making, impulsive behaviors, and a cycle of seeking dopamine hits that exacerbates these issues. Furthermore, financial ruin, guilt, and social isolation are common psychological consequences of online gambling addiction (Fahmi Sidiq et al, 2024)
2.1 A Source of Addiction
Results showed that participants are hooked on investing more in online gambling as a source of easy and quick fortune, yet it does not come without consequences. Participants who continue playing get more stressed and addicted that they spend all their money and win none in the process, thus the cycle continues that creates more addiction. Participant 1 admitted “Dapat one hour la, pero nadadara ako hasta magdamu nga oras” (“It should only be one hour, but it always extends to many hours”).
Reflecting the study of Moreira,D. et al (2023), the main characteristic of gambling addiction is a growing tolerance that eventually necessitates more gambling to feel fulfilled.
2.2 Fulfilment and Satisfaction
Online gambling provides players with both financial and emotional satisfaction. Winning brings pride and relief, especially for those with limited resources. As Participant No. 4 stated, “Allowance la gud ako, waray income. Pag daog ako, napapalit ko akon needs,” highlighting how winnings help support personal needs. These victories offer enjoyment and practical benefits, while the excitement of uncertainty motivates continued play. Participant No. 5 shared, “Nakabayad ako tuition tungod han online gambling. Motivation ko magpadayun is extra income,” illustrating how gambling earnings can fund important expenses like tuition. According to Busseri Ma et al. (2011), gambling fulfills psychological needs for competence and reward, making wins feel meaningful despite their temporary nature.
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
These conclusions were reached in light of the study's findings:
The findings indicate that the lived experiences of the participants give light to the different impacts of online gambling on the different aspects of their learning, finances and over all well-being as a student. In the sense of learning, online gambling diverts the attention of students to be impulsive on giving much time on gambling instead of studying rather than to be responsible for their learning progress.
All though online gambling is a window for huge amount of fortune for participants they are rather put into a trap of luck and probability, where in they risk rather what allowance they have for a quick cash that is never certain. This becomes a concern and must be prevented by both parents and teachers as it fosters irresponsible and impulsive behavior for college students with how they handle current and future finances.
Despite the proven risk of online gambling having to their psychological and emotional state, participants often do not pay attention as they are overwhelmed with the chances that they could win more. The influence of online gambling on the participants shows that even at the state of losing, participants are more prone to expose and try again to gamble if they have the chance. Denying the consequences that could deteriorate they are awareness to the threat of online gambling and addiction.
Finally, online gambling may seem like a quick trip for finances and entertainment but in the long run, the risk for psychological and emotional risk surfaces and becomes more intolerable. The seemly dopamine experience for students in claiming sums of money may lead to imbalance and unproductive behavior as online gambling can be frustrating more than it can be fulfilling. The study recommends that parents, teachers, and school administration need to work together to help prevent students from developing gambling problems. Students need to understand that online gambling is risky and can damage their education and future success.
REFERENCES
Avenyo, S. J., Kwashie, N. S., & Demuyakor, J. (2024). Online sports betting in universities: Does online sports betting addictions impact the academic achievements and social relations of students https://doi.org/10.30935/jdet/14039
Busseri MA, Sadava SW. A review of the tripartite structure of subjective well-being: Implications for conceptualization, operationalization, analysis, and synthesis. doi: 10.1177/1088868310391271.
Fahmi Sidiq et al. (2024). The Effect of Online Gambling on Mental Health: Study on TeenagersinPanimbangDistrict,Banten https://www.researchgate.net/publication/378617858DOI:10.46336/ijhms.v2i1.69
Gainsbury, S. M., Angus, D. J. , & Blaszczynski, A. (2019). Isolating the impact of specific gambling activities and modes on problem gambling and psychological distress in internet gamblers. BMC Public Health , 19(1), 1372. 10.1186/s12889-019-7738-5. [DOI]
Moreira, D., Azeredo, A. & Dias, P. Risk Factors for Gambling Disorder: A Systematic Review. Journal Gamble Studies39,483–511(2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-023-10195-
Silfiana, R., Adinugraha, H. H., & Hakim, H. Z. (2024). Analysis of The Negative Economic Impact of Online Gambling: A Case Study in The Sub-District of Bojong. https://doi.org/10.70177/jnis.v1i2.868
S. Marko, S. Thomas, H. Pitt, M. Daube (2023). The lived experience of financial harm from gambling in Australia. doi: 10.1093/heapro/daad062.
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DOI 10.5281/zenodo.17173782
