OPINION: Stop calling gambling gaming. It’s lazy and it’s damaging

This has to stop.

In the Philippines, gambling is routinely labeled as “gaming.” Casinos become “gaming operators.” Betting platforms become “gaming entities.” Regulatory action suddenly targets the “gaming industry.”

Each time that word is misused, the real gaming industry absorbs the consequences. The industry is on step to becoming more sustainable and attractive on a wider scale, and calling gambling a form of gaming is just ignorance and lazy

Let’s be clear. Gambling is gambling. Video games are video games. Esports is a competitive sport on the professional and highest level. They are not interchangeable culturally, economically, or structurally. The presence of a screen does not make them related industries. To someone not entirely familiar with the concept they think that’s their kid playing Mobile Legends: Bang Bang in their free time. Someone playing VALORANT on their PC or laptop is subjected to an even more negative light. The long time saying of ‘Kakakompyuter mo yan’  now has gambling connotations to deal with and it’s for lack of a better word… dumb.

This is not just semantics

Around the world, the distinction is straightforward. Gaming refers to interactive entertainment. Gambling refers to wagering money on chance.

Locally, “gaming” became a convenient euphemism. It sounds cleaner in hearings, more corporate in reports, and less controversial in press releases. But softening the word does not soften the activity. It simply transfers the stigma to a completely different field.

When a betting controversy erupts and headlines mention “issues in the gaming sector,” parents and policymakers unfamiliar with the ecosystem do not picture casinos. They picture consoles, competitive titles, and their children playing after school.

That confusion matters. Every repetition quietly erodes legitimacy and all because of the laziness, greed, and the corruption that started with the POGO boom a while back.

An industry that already fought for credibility

Philippine esports spent years building recognition. It produced world champions, established structured leagues, and created careers in production, analytics, broadcasting, marketing, and technology. The industry has continuously explained that competitive gaming is organized, professional, and legitimate.

Then one vague headline undoes part of that progress. The community again explains that the issue is betting, not tournaments, not developers, and not competitive integrity.

The frustration is simple. The industry keeps cleaning up reputational damage it never caused because someone wanted a scapegoat.

If the goal is to regulate gambling, then regulate gambling. If the goal is to tax betting revenue, then tax betting revenue. If the target is casino behavior, then say so directly.

Language shapes perception, and perception shapes policy. When officials casually substitute “gaming” for gambling, the public cannot distinguish between entertainment software and wagering platforms. That is not neutrality. It is carelessness and ignorance.

The larger problem

The Philippine esports ecosystem is still maturing and still earning mainstream trust. It does not need to inherit every controversy attached to betting simply because terminology is convenient.

This is not an attack on gambling operators. It is a defense of clarity.

Video games are not slot machines. Esports is not a sportsbook. Developers are not casino executives.

The Philippines does not need softer language for gambling. It needs accurate language especially with the country’s notoriety with reading comprehension.

And the esports industry deserves to stand on its own, free from baggage that never belonged to it.

And one more for posterity’s sake, gaming is not gambling.