EDITORIAL — Do they know when to stop?

According to a report in this newspaper, a man in Barangay Poblacion, Compostela town, Cebu, took his own wife and daughter hostage last Monday after the couple had been fighting and arguing for days.

Joshua Limates Canlas, 33, a resident of the said place, turned on his wife Roxanne, 29, and their seven-year-old daughter, locked them in a room in their house and threatened to harm them with a fishing spear.

He was eventually subdued and arrested by responding policemen. Fortunately, no one was reported hurt in the incident.

The same report said that the couple’s recent fights stemmed from his losing money to online gambling, money that was supposed to be spent for repairs to their house damaged by the recent Typhoon Tino.

This hostage-taking thing was just one isolated incident, but then again, the situation the Canlas found himself in may not be unique.

How many people out there are losing money to online gambling but who shouldn’t be gambling in the first place?

By “shouldn’t be gambling” we mean those who can’t afford to lose. Those who spend their day’s meager earnings on games of chance instead of saving. Those who should be spending money on house repairs, food, clothing, and other essentials but gamble them away instead. Those who are addicted to gambling and cannot stop.

It’s so easy to get into online gambling these days. Anyone with a phone and an internet connection can just do so. Even those under 21, the age where one can legally gamble, can find a way to beat the system.

And it’s so hard to get out, especially for those who have too much free time on their hands and have little or no other means to earn money. Look at loiterers just sitting by the roadside looking at their phones, chances are they are gambling.

But we all know that not all who bet win.

Of course, who are we to tell someone they can’t indulge in the pastime of their choice; that would be hypocritical. Whether we like it or not, online gambling is a form of recreation and entertainment, even one that people can earn from.

It’s their right to gamble the money they earn; but for those who cannot afford to lose, do they know when to stop?