The Rise and Fall of E-sabong: Exploring Pitmaster through Digital and Physical Ethnography

Abstract

Pitmaster’s E-sabong (online cockfighting) portal is a neoliberal permutation of traditional cockfighting operating through the extension of the interface beyond the virtual space to its physical operational management. This research examines the role of speed in proliferating capitalistic ideologies by narrating the rise and fall of Pitmaster’s E-sabong through digital and physical ethnographies that highlight the “social pathology” it caused. Three spaces of the Pitmaster ecosystem are examined in this research. First, the operational management of E-sabong agents is explored through interviews to reveal the principle of speed permeating in their modus operandi. Second, the role of digital wallet apps such as GCash in accelerating the already speedy mechanics of Pitmaster was given focus to show the eventual downfall of the system. Finally, the design principle of the online sabong portal is examined to magnify the centrality of speed as its core feature. This study highlights how changes in speed within virtual systems can have a direct impact on the lived realities of the Filipino people interacting with such technologies of speed particularly gambling applications.