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My close friend is 50 years old. He's never been addicted to anything throughout his life. His friend made a poker website and now he keeps playing there a lot. he also uses some free tickets to tournaments he gets from betcoin.ag signature campaign. He plays almost every day for a few hours. And he became more nervous in general. But he doesn't think he's addicted and his argument for that is that he can stop playing for a day or two (that's true) and he doesn't spend his own money on it at all. Would you call such a man addicted?

You can be addicted to something without spending money. Just look at video games or something.

The fact that you describe that he is spending serious amounts of time does not directly scream addicted, but rather excited from something new. I would keep a close eye though, as especially with games like poker, money can become involved rather easily, and than addiction may follow when he starts chasing losses.

1. He doesn't play with his money, he is free player
2. He can stop every time he wants
3. Playing poker for few hours is normal because freerolls last longer than hour(at least tournaments i use to play)
4. Nervous is common reaction, it would be strange if he doesn't have any reaction at all.

You didn't say does it affect his life? For how long is he playing? In my opinion he is not addicted. As NorrisK said, maybe he is just excited. 

as you says that he hasn't spend his own money and he could stop playing for a day or two days i think i agree with the post above me that he only hobby playing poker because hobby is different than addicted and during playing poker does not interfere with other activities or live normal

i think for now maybe your friends is not an addicting person in gambling but soon or later, i am sure that he will be an addicting person because he plays almost every day for a few hours and this is the reason that maybe could make him to be the addicting person in someday.

I think he was not addicted. Although he played every day in a few hours, but you say he could stop in 1-2 days. That means he can control himself, he did not spend all his money on gambling. Anyway, as long as he is still able to control himself, he was not addicted. And from what you tell, I think he is still able to control himself.

I think he is addicted and not too deep, and the good news is he is not the ''Problem Gambler''.

Most people will do their own hobbies for a few hours everyday...like someone will play video games, watch TV/movie, surf internet,
and your friend is playing poker.

I would have to say right now hes not addicted. However if you see him continue to play longer and longer and start spending his own money then yes. Its only a bad thing when you are risking money you can't afford to lose then it becomes a problem. Most poker tournaments take a few hours to play anyways.  

As an old person maybe he dont have any hobbies that would really make him enjoy but only on playing poker and those feeling of nervous are normal and it does really happen on playing gambling. I could somehow called it as an addiction specially when he already play on daily basis or longer times even though he didnt spent his money on playing it.

At his age, it is not addiction anymore, he is probably in need those to atleast divert his attention. You didn't mention if this guy is a family man, or have  any other hobbies.  But since you've mentioned that he is not spending his money on it, then that's just fine to gamble that way, not addiction I think because of his age, he probably has nothing to do that much anymore in life.  :)

No he is not addicted because he is not spending his own money in poker, so he is gambling with the money he is getting through signature campaign. So i think he is not at all addicted to poker just, he is finding his way to make another source of income with out investing his personal money into it.

Imo I wouldn't call him addicted too because he doesn't spend his own money when gambling with poker so it's like the same as playing poker with no money involved. Your friend should be okay as long as poker doesn't start to ruin his life.

He is already on that way and whether you ask him if he is an addicted gambler or not he will not admit it. That's what addicted gamblers say all the time, that they are fine and they are not still addicted. But with your friends situation he is addicted but in a way that he doesn't spend his own money, but his time is in gambling for everyday.

Gambling addiction is not about the money, it is bad as any other addiction. It will cause problems not only of financial nature.
You can be addicted gambler while being extremely rich person or playing with free rolls all the time, and having zero problems with money.
Excessive gambling is problem of behavior, urges and impulses - if someone is more distant and nervous - I would say it is possible that he is addicted.

Nope, the guy is already 50, so I think he is just enjoying his life, probably he is alreayd a retired one? At that age I think it's not going to get him into addiction. Though he is playing in his friends site, I think that's just fine, if it takes him a year and he lost money in it and some part of his life was destroyed, that is the only time we could say that he is addicted...

In where I live, in some remote places, some old folks fight their roosters during the afternoon when they have nothing to do, and they do it almost daily but with no money involve and no rooster dies...  :)

well if he's just enjoying and not asking for someone to finance his activity or he's not doing any harm to other's i guess he's not addicted yet, he just found another way to enjoy life, maybe if i'm also at that age i will find things that will allow me to spend my life its all about choosing what will make us happy and he chooses gambling.

This is the starting point of addiction to these games. You already know that in gambling need only luck to win money at the end but still, you spending all your signature money now means later on to recover earlier losses he/she may start using their money to play and finally lost a lot of money. So it is good to gamble only once in awhile instead of every day. Everyday gambling is a very dangerous thing in the long run.

i think he is include in addicting people without he realize and he talk that he can stop playing but he will start in another day, this is the basic sign that in someday, your friend will be an addicting person if he continue to playing gambling. better you give advice to not playing gambling too often and he should avoid or stay away for a while from gambling.

I think we can admit that he is addicted to gambling in a positive way since he does not lose any money in this activities. That is very great as your friend knows how to gamble in a right way and he also knows how to control his temper while gambling. He can stop if he wants to. Well, please give this guy a medal, he totally turns gambling into a fun activity

You are completely wrong here. Firstly, age of 50 is not that old. There is no country that I know where retirement age is lower than 60.
In most European countries retirement hits you at 65. Secondly, your age has nothing to do with addiction you can get addicted as a baby as well as an old man.
And again, addiction is not problem of financial nature, it is problem with controlling your behavior and urges.

Well, it's not wrong, there is so called "early retirement" in some other country and in military service, 54 - 56 is the age where you can already retire or go out of service... Most of those  officers who retired at 54 gets bored and sometimes still look for extra job, that is why they are sometimes hired as security guards or security consultants...

Basically, older people has matured already and pass thru everything that we are now experiencing and if they get pass thru that, when they try it again at their age of 50 or up, they are not getting addicted to it,.. Just like those old people who are chatting in the internet shops, they are not addicted, they just need someone to talk with or something to do with their spare times....  :)

The person that Op mentioned is a good gambler, because he has the control in hands. For some instance if he needs to quit for few days or more too, he can. This clearly shows that he's is not a gambling addict. Without doubt in a short we can see him as a successful gambler, because he haven't lost much other than the free tickets.

He's already addicted to poker because he is already playing it on constant basis and if he treat that as a past time then its better as long he don't lose up money on playing It I could still consider it a safe play for me. Playing without compromising money or anything is still okay as long you know what are your priorities on life.

I think your friend had a gambling addiction. as if someone had known gambling he will be hard to stop playing because of the gambling nature that makes a person addicted

Well, I can't say it has some major impact on his life. It's just that his family members aren't very happy with him playing a lot and thinking about it. He's been playing like that for three months or so.
You are right. I didn't think that we can actually consider this as a hobby.
You and many other people in this thread say he's not addicted as long as he doesn't spend his money on it. But is addiction really about money? Can't we say that some people are addicted to computer games, for instance?
Well, even this is a bit wrong. He doesn't even gamble using the money he earns from sig campaign,he uses free tickets it gives him.

Ok, how much hours does he spend playing poker every day? Is it few hours like 1-2 hours or is it few hours like 10 hours?
What is his family opinion about poker in general? Maybe they see poker as something very very bad?

Why not?

You can be addicted to something, someone or somewhere, but the point is you can be addicted to anything without the usage of your money. For example, getting addicted to a song you have in your phone or tablet, you are addicted to it and there are no money involved, so the answer is yes, he is addicted to it, but the good thin is he can control his addiction and that is a very good thing.

he might be slightly addicted to gambling because he can still stop playing for a day or two as you mentioned which is true, although he's not spending his own but he used to play each and every time he wants to and keeps a lot of time on it then we can still consider him that he's addicted to it. you friend just don't accepting the truth although he already knows it ;D

It is harmless.

I also get addicted to something (usually video games) from time to time just to empty my mind. I am mostly educating myself even in my free times and after a time i just get bored of doing so and spend a few months by doing nothing other than stupid shit. When i get bored of stupid stuff, i get back into serious stuff again. Works for me.

I think your friend including addiction because he always playing gamble every day. Addiction does not always have to spend a lot of money because basically addiction is dependency or doing continuously. He did not spend the money to gamble altogether, but he's doing it continuously so that it can be considered as addiction.

I don't think that your friend is addicted to gambling, It's  normal to play like that when it's about gambling. Few hours a day is it not so much duration for playing poker.
So I think your friend is just loved gambling in poker. so as you said, He can stop for 1 or 2 days, so he is a normal gambler, not addicted. Also, he don't use his money to gamble, he use a free tickets as you said, So this is good.

People have their own meaning of being addict in something, just like in your statement I can call it vices, because once it becomes vices it means it is already a daily habit routine of his life. He doesn't care anything whether he losing money. Just important to him is to fulfill his habit before end of the day.

a real addicts will never can control themselves on doing anything.
based on op story , his friend did not use his own money to gamble , just uses free ticket/free money only.
which for me it is shows how he still in control and not yet addicted hardly, he just cannot stop playing.

Probably not. The fact that he can stop for a day or two proves that he's still in total control. He is 50 years old and I think that being nervous is just part of his age. I think he is just having a good time playing poker and that's it. Everyone can enjoy these things. Nothing special about that. You also said that he's just playing for a few hours and almost everyday. So it's not a whole day long gambling session and it's not happening every single day.

A gambling addict would play all of his free time gambling and would do it every single day. Whenever he's at home, he would always be on his computer gambling.

In my eyes yes your friend addicted with gambling because he cant stop and try many times with many way for he can gamble but he smart play without use his own money.

Maybe your friend is just a casual gambler. As long as his gambling does not interfere with family obligations I think he's not addicted yet. Perhaps
gambling is a major source of relaxation and entertainment for him. But if he spend a lot of hours per day and forgot his obligation on his family, then its a different thing.  

Addiction doesn't just mean that a person should spend his own money to prove that he is addicted of something. A person can also be called addicted if he spends much time on something every day. Also there can be kinds of addiction, like maybe someone gets too much addicted that he starts spending anything he has and maybe someone has enough control on himself that he will stop himself from doing that anytime he is done with free rolls.

There are a few symptoms from which we can find out whether one person is addicted to gambling or not.

If he is very conscious about his responsibilities and duties then there would be no need to worry about his continuous gambling activities. Once he starts failing to fulfill his responsibilities, we must treat him as an addicted person before it is getting worst.

He is playing with free money, who knows he is addicted or not and he may play just to make a profit. Because if also lose no problem, he will not lose his money. So only he will spend more time on gambling to make a profit. If any person plays more time in gambling with his own money, there is only one reason he is addicted to gambling. But if anyone play with others money the reason is it's not his money, so he will play freely without any tension.

He still can control himself and use a money which he can afford to lose.
He use a btc from sig campaign, it's means he's use he's own money, that's not free money he need to spend time and learn something to earn such money.

I think he's not addicted, looks like he wants having fun with such money.

I think so, because he's not aware anymore in a normal things happen in his daily e life. By the way what do you mean he doesn't ?spend his own money? Does is someone spending money for him?

Are you able to read quoted post?
Where did OP said that his friend is not aware of things around him? Also, what part of "free tournaments tickets" you don't understand?

Oh no, another brand new farming account!

if a person find it hard to stop to stop gambling or he convince himself again again for playing gambling then he is addicted. but i thing addiction to gambling is not a problem if an addicted person is playing gambling in a limit. but if he is playing gambling out of his limit then the problem is a little serious.

Spoiler alert,an addict would not have a limit while gambling and so is the reason they are known as addicts.And for the OP i am a smoking addict and i can stop smoking a day or two that doesn't mean that i am not an addict .Hope he doesn't burn his bank roll in his old age and rather stick on the free tickets he is getting.

In the case of his friend that is not still severe type of gambling addiction because he said that he is not spending his own money, which is a good thing for him. But he is playing almost everyday and that is considered an addiction. Just always remind your friend that if he keeps on gambling on a daily basis that can make him into utmost addiction.

I can say he is not since he still have control overhimself.  He is not going beyond the line of spending other money or affecting those people around him negatively.  I think he is just enjoying his free hours :).  Keep us updated if he suddenly change to an aggressive gambler using money that is not his.

I think the guy is fine. He just have lots of hours to spend in gambling game.  There are no traces of having an impulse control disorder since he can stop whenever he wanted. Aside from that he can also control his spending in gambling making him not affect his friends and family negatively.  So I guess the guy is fine.

For me i don't see addiction in the game since he is not spending money while gambling and he just use the ticket to gamble also you can seen that he is gamble with limitation of time.. the addicted gamblers can spend a lot of time and can spend a lot of money.. that man i think he just gamble for fun with trill since he is thinking to win high using the free ticket..

I am curious that he play on his free time or not? Because if your friend just play whole day and he is not working or he doesn't have any social life, or doesnt care about his family just to play then i can say he is addicted, but if he only plays during his free time then that's not an addiction but it is only a leisure for him.

Yeah in his case it's a little bit confusing to consider he is addicted or not
One thing that i know if you can't handle your desire to win in gamble and keep trying in no matter condition
Which even could make himself get hurts, then it's something dangerous called addicted
If the situation like what you said , i guess yeah he is addicted already.

he was not addicted he could control himself to be able to stop playing for 1-2 days and not spend his own money. which becomes a problem when he started to play in  long term and began spending his own money he would become addicted to it.
I think your friend just got a new hobby

No he isn't, because he can control himself for being greedy and ONLY using free tickets from Betcoin.ag and NEVER spend his money for GAMBLING because getting addicted into Poker also he has stated he can stop playing from gambling activities (that's a great mind).

Sorry but I do not agree with you. If he is still in control certainly would not bet every day for a few hours, although with ticket/free money that he has. He can not stop playing it includes no self-control, so I think it includes addiction. Like a someone who is addicted to watching porn, whether he was watching with money or not, but he watched continuously.

Not at all addicted I would say if he can stop for a day or two then he can definitely stop for the long term. This I feel at his age he's liking the game. For eg Candy crush when it came In all went crazy to play it and after a while it faded away. Similarly for him this is just a phase it will pass away. I would not really be worried about this at all. Addicted would be if he would invest his own money and loose. Maybe it's just he has nothing else to do and he wants to kill the time. I don't think you should make such a scene cause he likes to play a game.

Sounds healthy to me, so long as its not his one hobby.  Stopping for a few days means little, not even a week is nothing.  Overall he sounds quite controlled and just interested, a bad gambler will return no matter even disliking or feeling worse regularly after playing.

Well I don't think that he is addicted to it since you said that he is not playing with his money,

and also he can control it cause he can stop playing with it.

Well, he plays about 4 hours per day, I think. His family is not aganst poker in general, they just don't like these moments when they are having dinner and he's late, because of making some bets or when they talk and he both talks and gambles.
I guess it is one of his main hobbies. Top three. Yes, maybe now he controls himself but, you know, once he decided himseld that he will play once in three days but then he started playing again every day. And he feels like he is very busy, you know. Once I asked him didn't he read what I wrote to him on facebook (around 5 sentences). He said that he's too busy for such things. And he doesn't really do much apart from sig campaign and poker now.

You have a point but he is playing on constant basis which means hes already somehow considered as addiction because hes playing poker always and stopping for 2-3 days doesnt mean that hes not already addicted on that game. Playing poker isnt bad as long you spend your vacant times only.

Hes not addicted on my own view because he doesnt spend his own money which he treats poker as an entertainment.Playing on longer hours doesnt mean hes already addicted because there are people specially old ones has lots of vacant times and spend his time on his enjoyment.

For me, even though he doesnt use his own money while playing poker but he did it regularly, that means he uses his time mostly for playing that game. I bet he already ignored other things in his life, hence I consider he got addicted to that game. Addicted to gambling not always related to money. Wasting time can also be categorized as an addicted.

I think it's reasonable, I also experience it. many people perceive that I'm an addict gambler, I don't care about it, which is important I don't bother them.

Well i don't think he is. My basis for anyone who's addicted to something is that they don't have any control anymore over the things they are addicted to that they spend most of the day and their money in it. The fact that he's not yet inclined to spend his own money, for me, means that he's just enjoying what he's doing and if it cones to it, he won't have a hard time stopping and what he's doing is nit affecting his personal life. I think he's just new to poker and he's still enjoying his new game. Poker is a very enjoyable game anyways

Their is not a single way of addiction on his activities which you are thinking to describe it, he is playing newly poker that is why he is now addicted to play for long and as soon as he gets bored he will stop it and that too he is playing freerolls so that is not affecting his family and he is 50yrs old so it is good idea of killing the free time. Until he is not investing and losing money it is not called false addiction ya but he is getting addicted to the game as he is playing for first time, give time and come back

Well, it sounds like he is bored from life in some way and that is why he plays poker. I would not call him addicted because he is able to control when he plays. Also he do not invest his own money, only his free coins from campaigns. Addiction means to me, when someone lost control over the decision to play and when someone set money one can not afford to lose.

Poker can be addicted even you are old enough i had friend too who uses poker to stress relief and to enjoy life because they already done working too much and they want to enjoy their life by playing their money that they saved for long time. But there's an cause when you've been addicted to poker casino you can lose everyday and lost everything you had.

I think he is not addicted person, as you told that he can stop gambling for 1 and 2 days, and also he is not using his own money. So i think it is his quality that he is not wasting his money, even he play a lot, but still he is good gambler. Because as i know addicted person don't care his own money, addicted man  play and waste his money and also his life. But in my view, your friend is a professional gambler but not addicted person. 

Well.. as soon as he plays with tickets he earned, I guess he is actually receiving tickets that he can only use for gambling so that is not called an addiction. When he cannot control his bets he can be considered an actual addicted gambler.

If he is just playing with free tickets or for fun than i will say it as entertainment rather than gambling. And he is not even risking anything from his pocket, so i will call him addicted to game not to gambling. But when he will start to play with real money from his pocket in the same rate like you have explained, he may develop addiction towards gambling.

I am sure, he is not addicted person, he is just gambler, and he is age of 50, he is totally mature person, so he will be well known by addicted diseases. SO i suggest you, don't take tension, he is simply gambler and he is not wasting his money, So you can't think that he is addicted person.

So you are saying procrastinating people are also an addict? Sorry but it seems a broken logic to me.  It was define that an addict uses substance to alter his mood, or in gambling it is the impulse control disorder.  There is no indication that the person has impulse-control disorder since he is able to stop himself from spending his own money and he can stop playing anytime he wanted .

since it is not made bad effect for him/ his life i think no problem if he play and it is not called addicted. but it will be different if he spend all of his time in poker and forget everything about his real life, but you'd better help him so he won't get addicted before it is too late

You know what there are different types of people in this world and different interpretation in something we want to know the meaning, like in your question, your asking if your friend is addicted. I think he's not an addict, it could be just he's one of his hobbies only, something like that. And if he felt nervous maybe its because he don't want to loss in the game.

I think he is not addicted, because he can stop if he want.
However, playing every day can become a bad habit with time.  If I were you, I would try stop him before it is become to late.

Well I don't think that he is addicted to it,
I also think that it is just his way on spending some of his free time since he is already old.

It would be a hard task on OP because i think the guy is way older than him.  Second, being a friend does not give you a free passes of interfering with peoples lives without any adverse effect.  This might start a gap between them. But you can advice or suggest something better to him.  Just put a little diplomacy on the way you talk to him.  That way you can at least share your thought without making him uncomfortable.

If he can stop when he wants and it didn't makes changes on his life i would say that he isn't addicted. Playing poker is time consuming like if you play video games or you make big puzzles. In my opinion the addiction don't depends on investing money or doing free hands, it is when you stop doing things because you use more time to play (and you need to play everyday).

Yes the person does not look like addicted to gambling.  Maybe he find it as a hobby the reason why he do it regularly.  I also cannot see any indication of control disorder since he can stop anytime he wanted.  Aside from that he does not create a negative interaction within his circle of friends or family.

You got the point the person who are not spending much time in gambling we can consider it not addicted.. but a people who are spending much more time and daily he can gamble and not thinking for tomorrow that people we can consider it as addicted if you trying to stop him to gamble he will still gamble its just like a child who addicted in the game and even you preventing them to play he will just cry and play again..

This is just a gamble with excitement and halving fun. i don't see any addiction of play here since he is not spending money while he gamble and he just use the ticket given . Addicted person i think he is not contended if he lose we will deposit again and like other said spending too much long a people who are addicted in gambling..

he is addicted to gambling, when your mind only think of gambling then you are addicted, and he can stopped for a day or two but he can't quit gambling, that's mean he is addicted to gambling and I am sure during that off period he  keeps on thinking about gambling and the denial of he is not addicted will make him harder to heal from addiction

He is not addicted, you said he can stop for a day, that means he can control himself. Even if he plays always as long as he has the control with his finances and be able to do his responsibility with his family and in the society, he is not an addicted gambler. I know how it feels when you are addicted in gambling, you cannot balance your time very well as you will be tempted to spend more time in gambling and the worst thing is the end result is always losing.

I thought it was an activity that is done in your spare time despite the bad activity, at least your friend still has the common sense and if he do it constantly could so he would become addicted. Your friends have not become addicts it's my opinion

It is true, he is bored and that is what he says when someone asks him why is he playing. He says he doesn't have something else to do. He's a good writer and he wanted to become a screenwriter. Some local celebrities loves his works but the finances are also a problem in our country, so he didn't get the job he dreamt of yet and thus he keeps playing.
This also makes sense. He stops playing for a day or two but I am not sure whether he doesn't want to or can't quit the stuff. So, summing up, maybe he is addicted but not very seriously, so it is not a problem now. In a way, we are all addicted to our hobbies, so to say.

If he's doing his job and then sitting through to play poker or whatever and he's not even spending his money on it then I guess he's fine. He must have found it interesting and entertaining and because of which he continues doing so. If played correctly, poker can help you sharpen your thinking capabilities and improve your mental strength in general. Just tell him to add some physical exercise to his routine now that he's 50. Tell him to only sit for a poker session if he had walked around the park or certain distance.

I don't think he is addicted.
You can ask him for how long does he playing, and does it takes a big part from his life.
if it takes a big part in his life then he is probably addicted and should stop, as already mentioned above, you can be addicted to something without spending your money in it.

Without spending money isn't always an indication that you aren't considered as gambling addict and as you said if playing gambling/poker consumes too much time on his life or shall we say longer hours on an entire day then hes definitely a gambling addict because we should really need to balance our time on leisure and some important matters on life no matter how old we are.

I agree. One can be addicted to something not requiring money to be spent.
You say he's addicted but how can he stop playing for some time then? And how can he stop participating in a tournament when he is winning but just got bored?
He doesn't actually have important matters in his life, so he plays, because there's nothing else to do. However, now he got interested in starting business, so maybe this will distract him a bit.

Well apologize if I make a mistake to you according to your topic tittle
I guess what you mean was does this guy addicts as a gambler? Or addicts with gambling?
Let me underlined the sentences as you explain he just play not with his own money but most of that was from campaign or free that he achieved
In this condition I think that he's not addicts he just try to joy the entertain but more to be overjoyed
Now I wonder does this story true :)

but if he playing gambling more in every day then soon he will be an addicted person in gambling, apart he is using money or not. and if he don't want to be an addicted person, then he should not playing gambling in every day and for more than three hour in a day. beside that, he should control his emotion in gambling because this is important thing that he should know that his emotion can make him to be greedy and i don't think that if greediness is come, he will keep the money in his hands.

It depends if a person a can stay away for a week continuous then he is not actually addicted.

Try this and you will know the answer

If I will judge whether someone is addicted to something or not, I will want to know the output of that venture he is currently undertaking, in the case of this your friend if he has been losing and even running into debt then he is definitely addicted to that but since he is not using his own money and maybe he is even winning then I say he is not addicted afterall whether he is working or gambling, the end result is to make money and if he is getting that, then to me that should not be an issue whatsoever.

If that person is playing on that casino for his friend in order to keep his website alive and active for the players then he is not addicted if he will be able to stop gambling at that site for some days or forever. While if he is gambling on that website for his entertainment and is loving to play there and is unable to remain any day without gambling on that site and is wasting all of his day in that games then he is definitely addicted.

It wouldnt really be an issue at all as long he do enjoy on playing poker without compromising his own money then i could say that hes not addicted but i think he does play because of enjoyment and remember hes already old and should not be stressed out on some other things.

He may not be addicted right now but if he continued like this then one day he will really be addicted to gambling as it will make his routine like that and he will then consider it as a compulsory part of the day to gamble on there and will be strongly addicted.

Not only using his money for gambling is the the reason i think the other reason why people saying addicted because of spending too much time..
Even it is not money involve if the gambler or spending too much time in the game we can consider it as addicted..  but people who are can control her or him self and you can limit your spending time we can not consider it as addicted.. just example your children was addicted in computer.. so if your child is spending too much time in playing games in his computer.. it means his addicted.
So spending money is not the reason why people are addicted in gambling.

The fact that he can stop and continue with his gambling activity only means that he is in control.  As what is stated he can stop gambling whenever he wanted and then play again.  The fact that he is not spending money nor using others money which may create a problem is a clear indication that he can control himself.  That is the main point why he is not addicted to it.  But the question would be until when he can control himself.

No, i don't think so, because if we read the thread carefully than we have a answer in this thread. He is good and careful gambler, he is not play gambling in a routine wise, and also not wasting his own money. Also he came in the age of 50, So he will be well known about the addiction problem.

Yeah exactly now he is gambling with the money he gets from signature campaign but how long will the earnings remain tbh. Now he is on the edge either he will control himself or he will successfully get addicted to gambling and start using his own money and will of course end up like most of the gamblers.

For now he is not addicted. But soon he will be addicted once he didn't stop playing. Because even at old age, peopple can be addicted to gambling. Gambling addiction is effective for all  ages because all people have a natural greediness inside.

Every people does really have greediness inside and you are right doesnt matter what age a person do have and as you said that old man will surely got addicted on the long run because playing excessive hours on a certain game will surely mold you into a gambling addict soon.

OP, your 50 year old friend may be addicted or he may not be addicted. Maybe he is just doing something that he really enjoys. Even if he is addicted to playing poker, it isn't necessarily a bad thing. Poker is one of the gambling activities where using your brain and mental capacity is important. Exercising you brain as you get older is a good thing. For him it can be one of those so-called "healthy addictions" like people who are obsessed with chess and play it all day or people who are addicted to exercise. As long as he is able to pay his bills and provide food and clothes for himself and whoever he is responsible for, then I see no problem.

I remember when I used to live in New Jersey and would frequent the Taj Mahal casino in Atlantic City. From morning on to all day, you would see large numbers of retired senior citizens playing at the small stakes poker tables. I used to remember thinking that for them, getting out to interact, socialize and use their brain was much better than sitting at home alone and watching tv while their brains rotted. I used to also enjoy listening to the WWII veterans tell their war stories.

yeah right, this is just a matter of time. He was still able to control himself to stop gambling in a few days. But still if he still came back to play after a long time no stop time is reduced. Time can make people addicted, if he continues to play he can become addicted sooner or later. Because it is clear that the activity of gambling are prone to addiction. But it depends on the individual self. If self-control is very strong, maybe he will not be addicted.

For me if he can stops without thinking to come back to it, you can not call him addicted. And I think that if he does not spend his own money this is not a big problem.

I agree whenever a person starts gambling, him being addicted starting to gamble too :D.  Just imagine that the possibility of a person to be addicted is always 50:50, depends on the control and will of the person which function as house edge (the person being the house).  If the persons control and will is weak then that person will have a negative house edge making him being more prone to addiction. In that man's case, since he is quite resistant to being an addicted gambler but who knows even a .1% odd win sometimes (him being addicted to gambling)

When we say the word "ADDICT", it means you become an addict without spending your own money, example you have psp(play station player) you can be addicted to psp games without spending your money, because it became a hobby to you in your daily routine in life. Same thing with your friend.

Lol you are missing the definition of addiction here :)  There is a thin line between addiction and habit, and obsession.  Obsession is not addiction and definitely a habit is not either of two but each one can trigger each other.  But to be more specific, if the person use gambling (psp in your case) as an altering mood subsance or object and he become outraged or depress, or stressed if ever he failed to do or use that object, then that person is addicted.

We are talking about gambling here, if you mean that game addiction its totally different from gambling addiction right? Of course if he is addicted to an electronic games then his not addicted with gambling , but if you say he's has habitual bitcoin spending used to bet at sportsbetting sites, playing online casinos, dice games into extreme; I would highly conclude that he is certified addicted to gambling.

Correct, it can be just one of His habitual hobby only, being addicted in the gambling there is an impact that will affect number one is the behavior of the person but as long as there is self control being implemented it means there is no psychological behavior that has been change in his character.

Being addicted is a bad thing itself. It always have a bad effect especially to the person and surrounding people.  It is established that too much of things is not healthy.  If he is addicted and still have lots of stuff to supplement his addiction may not look bad but if time comes that he exhausted his supply then, there you will see the bad effect of being addicted to something.

Yes, we can easily identify an addicted gambler even he is controlling not show them explicitly.

Only up to some levels a gambler will be able to hide about his addiction because those addictions will make him aggressive when he tries to act like a normal gambler which may leads to enforce him to go more intensive into gambling.

What do you mean by a suplement? he doesn't use his own money, just free tournaments tickets and the money some site owner (his friend) gives him. So, basically, it's just a game now. However, maybe you're right that in case something happens to friend's site, for instance, he is likely to be in shock since there will occur emptiness in his life he needs to fill with something. And then we will be more sure if he is addicted depending on how fast he will find himself another hobby.

I think he is .if he cant resist not to play gambling regardless the money he use to play .a hobby becomes addicting but as long as you can control yourself and you can manage any things bybset asiding your hobby for the mean time.

The OP mentioned that his friend could control himself not to play whenever he does not want to play. With that said, I can say that he is not addicted to gambling. Playing on your friends website is like showing them your support and at the same time enjoying the games. Being nervous too, is a sign that you are afraid to lose money. That means he is aware of the outcome of his actions.  :)

maybe for now his friend can control himself but who knows in tomorrow his friends can not controlled and still playing gambling and finally he become an addicting person in gambling. there is always another time to playing gambling since we can be a winner in that games but in the end, if we continue to playing gambling everyday, we only turn ourself into an addicting person.

Your right, it is signed that his friend is on the way to become an addict in the gambling site. It maybe for now its a kind of His hobbies. but sooner or later it will be for sure.

I think not, your friend was not addicted into gambling. He just came back for some other reason, it maybe give him a relaxation everyday that's why he often played. and also I think He knows how to controlled himself in the gambling because it stated that He can stop playing for a day or two days. because the real addict gambler can't control himself in the gambling.

If he will come back again and again then even in that situation he is not called as addicted if he can control his hand while spending his money in gambling and even he spend his own money in gambling. A non addicted person will spend an affordable amount in gambling which he will afford for entertainment.

this could be true as long as he don't spend too much of money and controlling his self, this all about controlling his self while playing gambling because once he is become too greedy in gambling, then he can not controlling his mind and only pursuit for the winning money and don't care about anything. mostly, people like will getting bankrupt quickly and he can not recover for what he loss, and if he can realize about this then he might need to asked for help from other people.

I think people who are not really addicted are not stay long time in gambling and even coming back.. they are just gamble for small amount or mostly they are only using the faucet bonus in the game for the testing..
People who are addicted are always coming back and i think they are using large bankroll to gamble. they are thinking that they can hit high profit but in the end they lose a lot if they keeps coming back addiction is hard to stop if you don't have willingness to stop gambling..
Before i am addicted but right now i am just gamble sometimes.. because i understand that gambling are made only for entertainment purposes..

when gambling affect your emotion, it's a bad sign.
thinking I can stop for a day is also another bad sign. play every day is not normal, and I think play for a long time without a decent time of stop is also negative. I think a wash-out period is not to bad for him.

I think no, if a person is experiencing trouble controlling his gambling habits then thats a clear sign that he is addicted but in his case its not. he also dont spend his own money which is good, usually if you dont have control when playing, you will make way to have money to spend whether its your savings or money reserved for something else.

Sometimes a person does not think that he has really hooked on gambling. in fact, addicted to gambling is not about spending money, and stop when they want, but how often they return. if your friend often go back to gamble, then of course he is one of those who are addicted to gambling.

Based upon the quote from OP it's clear that he haven't used his hard-earned money for the purpose of gambling as well he has the ability to give a break to it after continued use of gambling. So I don't think he's completely addicted.

Complete addiction is not so obvious in a person who has self control sometimes specially talking about the hard earned money, because he has to value the significance of money generating income that he has. So he limits himself on his gambling activities not to be more aggressive in playing but still if we judge and observed his acts and attitude towards gambling, we certainly conclude that person is really addicted with gambling.

Addicted to gambling is not a problem as long as he/she can maintain his/her money to not spend them all
Many people around the world commit to suicide because they use someone's money so they can't afford to pay them back

this will be bad ending for gambler that ended his life when he is got bankrupt in gambling, we should not be like that and the only one our hope is to stop right now and we should stay away from gambling if we are hard to handling ourself in gambling. the addicted person in gambling can make him to be bad person in his neighborhood so we need to take serious about to not getting addicting in gambling.

Yes his became addict to gambling and he must have a discipline in itself for it has been stopped him. but if that age difficult to teach because they want to enjoy life and there begins turning them young minds.

Well you have to consider that old folks really can be find of new things and i think it's normal. Poker really attracts people of all ages and once a person whether old or young gets to understand how poker is played out, then it will take a lot of time because it is enjoyable. For me, when a person is already getting negative effects, either with their financial, personal or professional life, that's addiction. If your friend, considering his age, has that much time to spare, i think it would be alright to be hooked to poker

if we've heard the saying about this fruit is not far from the tree as you said it all depends on his parents each in the way they educate their children to not gamble, so I think if the hobby of their parents and often a gamble, it all kesalahaan of the parents themselves and not always blame the child if the future behavior will be the same as the parents themselves to it.

Maybe you are right. Because he has a lot of time to spare in his hand, he just decided to use it to play poker. Instead of drinking or womanizing, gambling is the lesser evil of the 3. However, from the way you describe it, it looks like to me he is addicted to gambling even it is for free. Or maybe he is just enjoying and it just a hobby for him to play poker?

Yes we can think of him as addicted but it is not bad thing if he have control on himself. That addiction is harmless but if he is spending his money and losing all of his money and he do not care then it is dangerous and it will destroy his life.

Your friend are addicted on gambling you can give your money on him and then play with it at least ride money and watch him how to play with his powerful buff techniques everyone will be addicted on gambling when winning the game. That good that he didn't spend his own money his just generating a good profit on casino website.

you maybe right, It is I think one of his favorite games before then he stopped to play until years pass by then when there's a chance for him to play it again, He do it repeatedly, because He just miss it only. It can be like that. :)

This is like my friend before but he is died right now he didn't withdraw his money i know he almost made up 100 bitcoin in a month this is how i idolize his skill on how to play gambling with his low deposit. Poker is the best gambling for him his favorite his day is not complete when he didn't pay poker.

Addiction doesn't have to do anything with money here, in case he plays for fun purpose. But still, being addicted is something like you do it continuously and you don't have a hold on yourself to stop and move on to different things, so stopping himself for a day or two cannot be considered as a complete leave from gambling, so it is better not to play it too much. Else, the time is not too far when he will start using his own money too for this.

First, stopping for day or two doesn't mean that he's not addicted. Gamblers that are addicted can stop playing for week, but they still will think about gambling every day, they will want to gamble more and more each day.

And second, he can be addicted even if he doesn't spend his money, just problem is that if he will get very addicted to it, he might start gambling with his own money, and that is a big problem

I do not think being addicted is measured by how often the person return to the gambling house.  It is measured by how he lost himself whenever it comes to gambling.  How he manage his bankroll and his financial system.  If you see that he is spending all for gambling then this man is really addicted.

He is not addicted yet but if he continues like this , returning to the poker website very often will surely become addicted after some time. The fact that he doesn't play with his own money means nothing. If he has not been nervous before but has started to show these signs after he started playing poker this surely is a part of gambling addiction. If I were you I would get your friend to get some psychological help, being in the fifties is really a bad age to start being addicted to gambling.

When you're old, you already have a lot of time. If he made enough money or have established a business when he was younger, he doesn't have that much to do. He will be bored and gambling is one of the most common ways to stop being all so bored.

One thing I can say about this, you can quit gambling until you can't. How long will it last that he can quit whenever he want, we don't know. But at some point he will get so involved in gambling and quitting it will be really hard especially if he have made friends in the casino already that are expecting him to show up every night.

yes you are right. Many people do not stop from gambling and they come again and again to gamble but we cannot call these people as addicted people to gambling as there are many people in them who have full control on themselves and the know how to manage their bankroll and they care for their future.

yes that is very right to say that gambling is not a bad thing but the way through which we play gambling is not correct. as most of the gambler do not have any strategy and planning for gambling therefore for most of the time they cannot make money and even lose their own money.

You have point on that.
Even we dont spend our money in gambling its still a gambling.

I think he is not that so addicted to gambling, yeah he do play everyday but just in few hours as you said and he doesn't spend his own money so meaning to say he still have control on himself. He uses only the payment he got from a signature campaign, maybe he is just doing it as pastime

maybe it's the first time to your friend to have such as entertainment like that you cant say that a man is a addicted on a gambling if he only play just for fun as long as he's not spending a lot of money and his life is not endangered he is not addicted to it. maybe you can say that man is a on YOLO stage where he want to have a fun at all

It depends. even without using his money, without using most of his time, sometimes it can be considered as nearing addiction. With the words "almost every day" that is a sign already that his friend is already dedicating some time to it.

Maybe this time it is not yet an addiction, but sooner or later, when he don't change or he is still playing even if it is almost pointless to be there, then he is addicted already.

No, it doesn't mean that if we play gambling daily than we become addicted person in future, Because in my thinking, if we waste our money and time without any thinking, than may be we will  be addicted. But if we know our limit and not waste our money and than do play gambling daily, So it doesn't a sign of addiction.
We do many work daily because these works are part of our life, but it has no mean we will be addicted person of these work in future. 

Hes confident enough to play on constant basis because he knows hes not using his own money to play gambling and he fully depends on his friend but the question is what if his friend would lost that gambling site?Then for sure he would not play anymore on free but he would need money to play poker and also if he play for longer period of time then possibilities of a gambling addict is very high and im sure hes already an addict.

Yes you can precisely say that a person who play is addicted in gambling eventhough the person doesn't use his personal money in betting because most of his time are being spend to online games or gambling. He might probably lose focus on some important matters or things that might benefit him like studying, family matters same goes on being active on his environment.

its always fun if we doesn't use our personal money in betting but we should thinking, did we should payback the money or not. i think its not because he loss focus in other important matters but i think he only want to spend his time by doing gambling as he didn't use his personal money. but i think he should take care of his health because its not good for his body since he is 50 years old and he should have trying to make a new activity to stop his addicting in gambling.

In other words, that person is not an addict gambler, he is only playing gambling as one of his amusement, isn't right? to be honest, he's still a normal player in the gambling because He knows when to stop, and knows how to control himself on which a person who is addicted into gambling can't do that.

If he's not spending his own money on it, then to me it is more like playing a video game. It's basically harmless but I guess if someone played a video game, watched tv, played golf, etc. all the time, you could say they are addicted to it.

When you cant control yourself in playing something then that is an addiction, although he only use free money for now, but someday he can use his money to gamble, because he already addicted to gambling, i think you better find another hobby for him

Sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do you know? You're right though, gambling is bad especially when the Gambler doesn't have any idea on how to stop making mistakes.

i dont think so that he is some sort of addicted to gambling. in the first place he does not spend his own penny just to play and gamble. second is that he can stop whenever he wants to. he has this self control. as long everytime he plays, it does not interfere in his daily life or activity..  just basing in the explanation below, i dont think his addicted.

when we say addiction, it is a condition that results when a person engages in an activity (e.g., gambling, sex, shopping) that can be pleasurable but the continuation of which becomes compulsive and interferes with ordinary responsibilities and concerns... https://www.psychologytoday.com/basics/addiction (https://www.psychologytoday.com/basics/addiction)

Let him decide for himself. If he thinks that he isn't addicted then let him believe on it. And with the proof that he can stop for a day or two because most of the addicted gamblers cannot stop even for a day. I guess he is just fine but when it comes to his emotion, he should be careful if most of the he becomes nervous.

In this world every person at his level is addicted with a particular thing .
Here that person aged 50 year is also addicted to toward the gambling . I know that he is still.like a newbie in the Field to make gambling
But in actual I now that he is now gamblers and I think he will never left gambling Because in the gambling everyone enter for short time or for small fun but they got addicted and can't cames out of such types of the traps .
So here no doubt that he is fully addicted with gambling .

That's one thing and when one doesn't know his responsibilities and always involves into gambling. There are people who forget their responsibilities due to addiction. The person quoted by Op is perfect in his responsibilities, so I don't think he is addicted.

That's right, help him to find another hobby, hobbies are fun and can spend a lot of time. Help with finding a hobby that can be made of two or more, so you can always take her new hobby when he was lazy or forgot. If he really wanted to quit, you probably will not have too much difficulty in finding him a new hobby, patience is very important here. If you give up, he will also be more difficult again to stop.

Family support is really need for addicted gambler since nobody can't change gambler behavior except their family
Religion fundamental also take an effort for gambler's mental recovery against gambling although it's require time but it's possible  !

this is what we can do if we are really want to help that man, as we don't want he become an addicting person in gambling, and we want to show him that he is one of the addicting person. i think if he is really an addicting person in gambling, he should be thinking and asking to us, is it true and after this, we can tells him that we are here to help him and we should do more thing to help that man. with a good effort from us and him, i think we can help him to quit from gambling and not to playing gambling in every day.

Yup, we have to make him realise that he has addicted to gambling. When he realised that he is addicted to gambling and it will post my entire life and my family life then he will listen to our suggestion until that we can't help him. And yes we have to make addict any other habbit to stop this gambling. When people do not get more free time then they will stop to thinking about this gambling.

Although, this will appear in different light to different people but for me, I will say he is not addicted so far he can stop when he can and still continues if he soi wish that sends a signal that he is in charge of his activities then that's no addiction. Also, so far he is not losing and start dragging every one close to him including yourself, then he is not addicted when those factors started playing out, that's when its important he is to be cautioned...

There's no good when you get addicted into gambling you may lose or win this two are opposite now you can't choose on this because we always encounter loosing every time we forcing our selves to play more only gambling. I'm not that kinda addicted in gambling , a real gambler should had a discipline or his self :)

i think yes he is addicted because he made it compulsory for his life as he play it daily for few hours, although if he is not spending money for this but addiction is not used for that things for which we have to spend money.

I think it would be worthwhile to draw a line between gambling addiction which makes one constanly losing their money making close relatives unhappy and the "addiction" to the entertaining side of the process. The latter isn't so bad in my opinion unless it doesn't lead to the real addiction. I'd suggest that guy to cut the time he's spending on gambling though.

I think he wont do such thing since hes an old man and he dont have any time to spend on other things since hes already old and now hes thinking off on how to enjoy himself this might be called an addiction since hes playing on everyday basis but without using his own money i think its just safe to play but it will surely mold him to a gambler later on and thinking off on what would happen if his friend would be gone for sure he would use his own money on playing since he got used to it on the past.

He is not spending his only money yet, but what if the does now? I think your close friend is in the road to have a addiction to gambling. Specially if he is going to spend his own money. I bet he will do it in the future without you knowing and covering it up and its too late to know that he has lost some big amount of cash in gambling. Today he is not addicted, but in the future more likely to be.

I learned forex trading in 2007 and since then even I lose heavily I cannot avoid forex trading. I think the same thing apply to  addicted gambler. Addiction to a particular habit be it good or bad is the thing of subconsciousness and because of this even at age 50 your friend is still addicted to gambling. It better for one not learn what you cannot change.

The person in the statement is not an addict yet in gambling, because He knows how to control himself into gambling. But if he will become neglectful no wonder in the end He go through to that position to become  addict gambler.

He's not an addict, but he might become addicted in the future.  Playing for hours will make some people go back to cover their losses often, which could result in more and more money deposited until he fails.

       Is your friend still working or is he retired ?. Well in that age gambling is okay with them they don't think about it that's because they have the money and specially in his situation he is not even paying to gamble so that's more the reason he gambles. He might see it as an entertainment not as a addiction that's because he can control himself, as you said he can stop playing for a day or two. Still if he keeps playing and gamble everyday your friend will soon be addicted, he maybe say that he can stop but if he keeps doing it everyday it will be part of his routine and becomes a habit and it would be hard for him to stop gambling. So if I were you, tell your friend that even if he says his not addicted just tell him that he should minimize playing and wasting time. Instead gambling, use it in other purpose than sitting in for hours especially his 50 years old. Hope it helps  ;)

I think you can call it an addiction but some addictions are worse then others. An addiction for sugar will make your teeth fall out where and addiction for water or type of food is far less damaging. His addiction is fine. If he enjoys doing that in his free time let him. It's his life to enjoy. He is not using his own money so it's ok. If he was the there would be reason for concern. You seem like a good friend though.

His not addicted to me because he can stop  for 2 days right? So basically his not addicted yet but he will soon because if he kept losing in gambling he'll start to get addicted because its like a videogame once you lose you'll try to gain a win.

but i think its still addicted because in other days, he will comeback into gambling place and still continue to playing gambling as other gamblers. but if he doing this for a long time, then the chance he become addicting person is big and like you said, he will still playing gambling even if he is losing more money just to reach a winning money that he can not get.

I think he is not completely addicted to it because he is not spending his own money from his pocket and also he can stop for two days without gambling, but he keep on continuing gambling means definitely he will addict to it for sure.

Certainly, as long as he can manage himself and he has a control and limit on what he is doing, it can't be considered as addiction. Also, addiction doesn't need money relation to be considered. As long as a certain person do such thing most often and he can't control it, it should be consider as addiction.

Yes if he doesn't control his self, management of money in gambling and management of risk losing money
he will be addiction of gambling game, but if he can does control all of them
 i think gambling game will be fine and never break down his financial, unfortunately many gamblers can not
 take control about all of them.

As long your friends can still think logically not obsessed with gambling it can be classified not an addict but from what you convey will soon be likely he will become a addict

Your friend is like me, I do the same, and that's how I started to play poker with bitcoins. Back then there was man awesome free roll tournament's with high prizes, now I play cash game and paid tournament's because prizes are too small for me to lose time on that.
I don't think that we are addicted, we just find fun in playing poker, that is entertainment for us, so we spend out time in playing, we don't risk out money with earned here we try to make more with something we like.

playing gambling with own money and extra or others money have big diffeerce. If he uses his own money, then he will feel sad when he lost money in gambling. But he is playing with others money, so I think he will not care his lost in gambling. Addicted gamblers do not control their emotions when they don't have money they will use own money to play gambling. But he is not in that situation, so I think he is not addicted.

it can be called as addicted at low level.like me in the past, i always spend all my money receive from signature campaign and other sources on the internet on gambling. He is addicted to gambling but he just trying to deny it  ;D he may be worried about it but can't stop gambling, so he is addicted.

No matter how they deny such thing they cant accept to themselves that they are not addicted to gambling but seeing on what hes acting up that old man is considered as one because he do play on constant basis even though he didnt use his own money but still he have the aspects of a gambling addict and what if hes friend would stop on his business for sure he would use his own money on playing gambling again.

Well there's a bigger danger with being in denial if you're addicted to gambling because tendency is that you're just going to spend more and more time and money while telling yourself that it's just fine, not noticing that the more you play the more you dig yourself deeper into addiction. The simple fact that you he is audacious enough to spend other people's money tells you that gambling is already a top priority in his life

I do agree so. If we think someone is addicted to gambling, 90% that they are addicted to it and we have to immediately tell them what we are think and hope that they will soon change themselves. The more we delay, the more money they can lose and bad results they can have

Whether you are not wrong, i mean what he did is right fight to no gamble. It shows that he does not want to be addicted with gambling and it's all of the beginning for hin learn to control himself for not always gamble but i guess he need to more struggle harder because after he can control himself, positive he wasnt addicted with gambling.

Everything indeed depends on the thoughts or mindsets that we give to it. If indeed we have been wrong in cultivating a mindset in the gambling (doing various inappropriate) then the results obtained are also very bad. Because gambling requires a skill, every skill certainly have an advantage inside. There is nothing that we can get in the gambling without utilizing the skills and experience
 

its depend on them, they want to accept our advice or not, because we can not push them to stay away from gambling and i think if they don't care with our advice, they will only tells to us, this is my money, i am responsible with my money, you just stay away from me. i can said this because i have this experience in the past with my best friend and gladly, now he can quit from gambling and now he don't playing gambling at least not playing in front of me and his family.

Hes already done his job working hard from this world and now hes time to enjoy the another time of his life being addicted on gambling is not that bad at all as long as money is not his problem. He is already 50 years old of age playing poker in casino will be more increase his critical thinking will be more inhance his ability to do more work.

You said that his already done his job working hard from this world. But you also said that playing poker will increasing his critical thinking and enhance his ability to do work? I'm confused.

He is still not addicted because he don't used his money to play and can stop if he wants to.

If use real money to play, sure is addicted because is like a daily earn money.
But if he really is interesting in poker, like u said he haven't addicted in anything and it will be good he find the things he want and he love.

Just be care of not being busted then is ok.

Im gambler so i said that.

if he is not loosing then why you need to tell him to stop if his happiness is on gambling then go for it where going to his position soon he is just enjoying is time after being stress working hard for his money to earn. As long as his kids are already grown up and had descent job then his time is to enjoy his entire life by playing gamble.

If he plays gambling does not interfere with his family life it does not matter. As you say he only gambles using free tickets that get from the signature campaign, he also does not spend his money to gamble. Maybe I think it does not matter if it becomes entertainment for him. If asked if he is an addict, maybe I do not think it's a gambling addiction. Because they can still stop playing for a day or two, so it still has self-control (as long as he can stop maybe I think it does not include addiction).

Right now I would say he found a new hobby, which is perfectly fine. Like you said he just spends a few hours there, even though he does it every day. It's not disturbing his financial life right now, and if really is just a few hours, it also not disturbing his social life. You could try to see if he can actually stay away from it, for a week or two, instead of just two days, and see how he handles it.

He only finds playing poker as a good hobby and I think this also help him managing stress at the age of 50
and considering that he is not using his own money we cant call it addiction for now but if this behavior will
continue for a year or more this might lead to addiction..

I think you have a point that its not a gambling addiction but if you are still doing it until now we can consider it addiction.
Addiction is just like you are doing repeatedly like playing a games like you are playing dota2 you are playing until now we can consider that you are addicted.. so in gambling even you are gamble without investing or depositing but you are playing using the free tickers or claim faucet bonus if you are still gamble right now from before and until now we can consider it as gambling addiction..

Well we can say that it helps his stress manageable and it is a hobby of his own. But playing poker requires money, or maybe bitcoin, I don't know a site or a casino that let you play poker for free, unless it is an adroid application or a game. But usually, you will be ending up a gambling addict.

For me, in my opinion, being addicted in whatever the thing you want to do is destructive. For example, if you are addicted to smoking cigarettes, even if you know the consequences, why do you still do it? Then you have the answer, you are addicted to it, and your body needs that. If you know that it's destroying you in your life, you got to stop it.

It can be called now as addicted person by playing of gambling ,As the OP said his friend cant resist playing gambling so i think it is not called to be only a hobby of playing even we say that the money he use is not coming from his wallet the day will come that he may use the money he have in his pocket .

This is true,even myself would say the same thing if i do something which involves money and someone do advice me regarding on what should i do.I would definitely say that mind your own business since its my own money then i do have the full control of it.Still some people do accept some advice but as far as i believe most people wont really care at all as long they pleased theirselves on playing or what they gonna do with their money.

I think he is in the process of addicted to gambling game. All things that can change the way our mindset then it is a very hard thing not to do (addiction).

He should help himself as no other person can help him. All we can do is make him realize his mistake and his addictions. So what we can do is just talk to him. Change must come from himself and try to get out of an almost addiction that can turn to something really serious.

Through gamblers actually they play responsibly, then it doesn't mean they played most often in the game it means they are certified addict, no its not like that I think. Maybe if things are not working in a normal way while doing gamble that could be say the gambler was full pledge addicted to gambling.

It’s a pretty straight answer, the guy is addicted to gambling. The gambling situation that your friend has is one of the common addiction to gambling –he can’t stop playing and it seems that gambling is one of the things that is having a huge impact on his life. If you have a chance try to let him know that gambling is not a thing to do every day, if he has a job to make money from then he will understand it more.

We're all addicted to things.

As long as he's not spending his salary, selling things to "come back" he's good, let the man play around, afterall he is spending money he gets from casinos!  :P

We can not consider it addiction because it is still done until now, it does not include addiction I think. If you read the story from the OP he says his friend can stop a day or two, it proves that he still has self-control. Addiction is not to do it continuously or repeatedly but because it can not self-control, and if it does not lead to negative consequences it is also not called addiction. If we still do gambling until now maybe I think it's not an addiction but a routine.

As long the man doesn't play with a lot amount of his own savings, I don't think it is considered an addiction to gambling, it is only consider an addiction when a person can't stop gambling even he have financial problem or can't even sustain his own living expenses.

Well, addictions doesn't technically mean hazardous.
A lot of us are addicted to gaming, computers, internet, coffee etc.
An addictions doesn't necessarily cause harm
However, addictions is therefor not harmful until he starts spending his whole salaries, selling stuff to make a comeback etc.

I really dont think the said man is an addict, if he was really an addict he will spend every hour of the day on the site and if he is able to take 1-2 days off from the site, that clearly shows that he has got a gripe on the whole thing and thats really smart of him not using his own money.

I think it still depends on how much he spends and not really the length of time or frequency of his gambling. If he spends more than what he can afford to lose then that is a tell tale sign that he is addicted. Which should not be the case for any responsible gambler.

We the act he do can be called addicted .it doesnt mean you need to spend the whole day to be called a gambling addicted .You will know a gambling addict cant resist playing. Maybe he is part on the co owner of gambling or he have a free time to play anytime there its not totally smart thing.

It is true to eliminate dependence or addiction to gambling on the game if it is done continuously, but at least can be overcome if you want to do to start playing should be done in your spare time just as a hobby for leisure are fun and certainly you can limit yourself

Responsibility and gambling are completely controversing each other. I mean to say any responsible person will never prefer to gamble. Even he got opportunities to get introduced to gambling, he will never continue it so those responsible people never come into the dangers of getting gambling addictions.

Only a irresponsible person will be going for gambling and suffering with its addiction and finally finding their life struggling in between quitting and continuing it.

I think getting to 50 he should be able to do whatever he wants, I know I will. That is not addicted that is just found something that entertains him. Live and let live, ask if he is happy in general if the answer is yes and you know its true then you got a winner and nothing to worry about.

A person who has an addiction must have a hard nature. Just look at this time a lot of gamblers who lost a lot of money. They sometimes do not see the time and conditions while playing. I suggest that a game with a good emotional state can give us great results as well. So we should be getting addicted to get the money.

Actually, emotion shouldn't be used for gambling or putting your money at risk. Since you are about to make a decision for every roll you make, you must not doubt and it will just happen if you ignore your emotion and focus more on winning strategy imstead. Thou must understand people who lose are those who made decisios which they are not sure about it.

But he is spending a lot of time on it and OP mentions that he seems to have changed as a person since he started gambling.
I'd say that if it has a negative effect on yourself and your surrounding, it might be a good idea to quit or play less.

It could also escalate, perhaps he'll start spending money on it, that's when the trouble really starts.

Perhaps you're right that he deserve all the best in life that he can do whatever he wants to spend the rest of his remaining life span in this world. I think he just waiting for the urge to do something in life that's why he found that thing that will make him happy. When I get old I don't like to experience a sh*tness in my life rather I will explore the world than to entertain myself in gambling.

He is already addicted. And it's really sad to see and hear that in today's world people have started spending their money on gambling.
The only solution to this is never every gamble because once we start gambling it's mostly a game over for us and it's really hard to control after we keep losing.

The only thing that makes it hard to control is the making of money and chasing your loses .If you gamble only to have a rest and to unwind theres nothing wrong there. But the man he said is actually addicted even he dont use his own money.The priveledge of playing without spending will leads most in addiction.

The reason I say is live and let live: I lost my Dad not so long ago and in his final years finding poker kept him mentally strong, he made friends, he used his brain, he had fun and he was never alone. (He rarely won) but had fun..To let you know that your mindset about not having shitness in your life will pay off and exploring the world is a winner. I just got back from several eye opening locations. I guess to some up in one word would be Moderation.

Set aside from the addiction issue, There is no way that you are playing without spending anything at all. If you only use faucet, freebies or someone else's money then you are still spending what you have gotten for free to gamble. Secondly, if you can control what you are doing and keep coming back that means you are addicted

When it comes to addictions that are behavioral it is difficult to draw the line and say this person is addicted, I think that as long as playing casino games does not interfere with his life then we cannot say he is addicted but he is showing dangerous signals.

This is also one type of addiction whether the money is involved or not but now he is addicted to play for free tournaments and above that playing poker everyday but this type of addiction can be stopped so it is not much harmfull

yes to stop gambling for an addicted person it is not such an easy job, in fact he want to continue gambling in any case, they find it very hard to stop gambling and continue even after a lot of struggle to stop it. i have personal experience in this sense i know some people who are addicted to gambling and they continue gambling for for long long time, even for so many times they decided and tried their best to stop gambling but they did not succeeded in their struggle and still they continue playing gambling.

A 50 year old guy coming to a bitcoin forum to post in a signature campaign, so he can feed his poker addiction? Nah. This sounds more like OP has made himself an alter ego.
Let's face it OP, as long as you're playing with your sig money it's all fine.

LOL that seems to be the case though its true. Do what you want to do with your sig earnings as long as it makes you feel its worth it. Consider it a product of your ideas and thoughts that you input and share in these threads :D

It sounds a lot like every one else in this particular section of the board, but I don't judge people just because they like to gamble.  It is not fair to really ask such a question to determine a man's addiction and whether or not it is real.  Just sayin.

His attitude is somewhat that of an addict, but he is very smart about not investing his own money into it, ibwill say that he wants money but he is clearly not addicted but who knows what may eventually happen.

This is pretty stupid statement, anyone that keep playing in a casino despite knowing that probability to win is low is actually addicted already. Wether you want to swallow the fact or not, it totally depends on you. Some people just cant seems to understand this simple stuff and keep on denying it

then you have not to gamble at all right? otherwise you will just suffering lost more often as the winning chance you have here are very low based on your opinion , but you should remember that everybody will have different gambling taste .

for some people chasing that low chance to win really fun and nobody knows it could leading them to get rich !

I'd consider that to be fairly addicted. But if he doesn't play with money, then it's not so bad.

No, he is not addicted man, he is just gambler and like to play gambling. You read, he is not wasting his own money and also he could left gambling for 1 or 2 days and also he has spend a long time of life and in 50 years, he has no waste anything life money, career and family, everything is in normal. That's the reason i am disagree with you. Because i see an addicted man, his family left him, he has destroy his career, and no money in his pocket, these are qualities of an addicted person. 

Yes that man is addiction. Addiction doesn't require you to spend money. You can be addicted to anything. If he enjoys his poker you should leave him be but you have mentioned you are conserned that this man has become more nervous and uneasy outside of his game time which is an adverse effect. I don't think this man is too bad but it is heading that way so I do think this man needs to be honest with himself. I think if he admits it then he will be ok. If he continues to deny he may be in some trouble.