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So you see, i have a very close friend(also a neighbor) and he is obviously getting addicted into gambling online and is losing a lot of money in the process, i have posted already about what drives a gambler to still gamble even when they lost a lot already and i had a lot of great answers which led me to a conclusion that the things that drive a gambler to do such things is the thrill that the uncertainty of an outcome of a gamble can give and greed.
Now what i wanna know next is how can i stop someone getting more and more addicted to gambling? I wanna help my friend because we have been through a lot together and I don't want to just sit back and watch him ruin his life like those other people i know.

Please share your thoughts.
 thanks.

I think talking to the addicted gambler always seem to help in some cases and if that doesn't help, there are people that the addict greatly respects and it will be good to let those people know what's going on and when they talk to the him or her, they may listen  to that person.

proper approach and continues guiding the person if possible not to allow him to be able to do his activity if you can always be in his side
for a while so you can monitor his activities and encourage him to divert his gambling time to a much profitable things maybe you just
need to think of other possible things to do for sparing your time.

But what kind of things should i say to him? He respects me, but I don't think I'm enough, he has a girlfriend that he really loves though, and his family. He might listen to them. But it would really help if i could be able to say the right things.

Edit:
But I cannot be always by his side because i have lots of things to do also, i could spend time with him but not that much. I think telling his family or gf would be a nice idea. Any suggestions on what profitable things i should introduce to him??

See as a friend you can't really hit his psychological level. You need to trigger his thought process which wouldn't be an easy task for you as your friend is addicted to gambling and is still playing after having a huge loss. Also, people tend to ignore or pay less attention to the advise when it comes from someone of equal age. You better consult a psychologist if situation is grave or if you are really concerned. People are doubtful of consulting a psychologist, but believe me this is the best possible step right now. If you can't meet one, then try some helpline numbers.

People can only be helped if they want to be helped... It's your friend choice if he wants to continue gambling wasting time and money or if he wants to stop gambling to do something really useful in his life. What you can do is to advice, talk to him, but the final decision will still be his.

Don't torture yourself for third's choices.

It's depend on family support or religion to prevent things getting worse since I've my uncle who succedd run from gambling debt because he stopped gambling at all

The best help is to convince him to get help from professionals , like gamblinganonymous which helps addicted gamblers get better and totally forget about gambling. If there is no gamblinganonymous organization in your country, surely search for gambling help and it will list your options in your country from where to get help. Talking to him to quit gambling will simply not work. He needs to get special qualified help for such problem.

Well, in my opinion you can not do it alone. You have to gather all the family members, including parents, sisters, brothers, wife, husband etc, to convince him about how dangerous gambling could be for him. You will very likely fail if you are going to convince him by your own. I do not know how deep your friendship is but usually it is not deep enought to beat the addiction. If nothing helps I would try to force him to look for professional help.

I do not know about gambling anonymous. Here in my country, we used psychological professionals and therapists as an outside person whom we can go to if gambling addiction can not be treated at home. For me, besides from helping a friend to get rid of addiction it is also very helpful if we are not going to judge him. People's judgement whom we are very close to often have a bigger and deeper affect when it come to our personal character. Moral support as well as not leaving a friend at time like this is also very helpful.

You can persuade him to be active on other activities he likes. Help him until he can forget gambling and busy at his new activity. Make him feel comfortable with his new activity. It needs time and efforts!

Just sit down and talk to your friends. And explain all the negative things that gambling can bring to his life. Obviously, you can't be there in his side 24/7, but you can try to contact him if you fell he is going to gamble and try to persuade him not to. The only problem I'm seeing is that if your friend doesn't listen because he is already addicted and very deep in gambling. A counselor could also help like a intervention or something.

We have been in this kind of situation better, personally I reach out when I can't take my addiction anymore. I talk to my families and they are supportive on me that's why I was able to quit long time ago and just gamble for fun. Talk to his family as well maybe they can really persuade your friend to stop gambling or at least minimized it.

Just show him other gamblers stats who have lost in past tell him the effects if he doesn't stop how hard it is going to hit him financially and how hard it is to recover your losses when it becomes too high because of his addiction. Just be with him always and enter his into his privacy to check he isn't gambling time to time

Being a friend can't stay with him always. But you can just give him an advice not go gamble and its effect on people. You better involve his family members help to solve this issue because they can monitor him closely and more time than you. Ask him to involve in outdoor games to spend his free time and ask his family members always stay with him to get him involved in some activities until he forgets about gambling.

Your friend is to lucky to have a friend like you. I think you can do bring him in the places or activity that will let his mind leave the gambling games. If it works much better but if he insist to go with you maybe you can try to play with him and told him to lessen it. Explain him the possibilities and he will listen to you because your friends.

Wow, I really have learned a lot from all the suggestions you guys shared. I now have thing in mind to help him stop his gambling addiction; one is to try and get some professional help from a psychologist or psychiatrist for whatever it is that might work well, another is to try and get some help from people who are closer to him and can be with him a most of the time everyday like his gf, mom, bro, sis, or anyone in his family.
Thanks for the thoughts guys. Really appreciate it. Will still be watching this thread just incase another brilliant thought is posted.

If he do listen to you when you are talking to him and do some actions then it would really be worth to help him but if you do see that he just neglect or reject your advices then better to stop that because you are really just wasting your saliva and stressing you out for sure. People would stop completely if they do really to do so.Its not simple  as it sounds but if a particular person is serious on quitting then i would say it wont really be a problem.

To be honest it would be so hard to stop it. As you said he 's not yet in the peak of his addiction. If you have a lot courage even though he gets mad at you then enroll him in a rehabillitation center in which specializes in gambling addiction. Since he will not listen to whatever you will say about gambling, let the family speak to him. I think its much better if you let the family handle this. I know his your friend but this type of problem should be address by his family.

Well, this question is very interesting. I'm happy if I play gambling with my friends because it os one of taking out the stress and to relax. But much better to stop involving in gambling cause it's not profitable and not beneficial. To avoid become addicted in gambling, I choose to play some sports like basketball, chess, takraw and etc. with my friends. In this way we have alternative to gambling and it is exercise also,then if they want to play gambling I did not entertain them instead go in computer shop and play some games with my friends.

This is a nice topic, I think the best way to help him stop before he gets in too deep is to show him the realities of gambling. Tell him and convince him that indeed you can profit from gambling but at what cost? The profits will never out weigh the losses that you will incur by gambling and trying to profit. Losses should just remain losses, and chasing them will always be a bad idea.

I think you do not have to bother yourself to be able to stop someone to gamble,
because basically if he is smart enough to pay attention to every gambling he is playing.
he will be a success in gambling, although at the beginning he lost a lot.
and if he is stupid he will stop gambling by himself.
and of course by leaving a lot of debt

   Let him to see someone who lost everything by gambling, who lost his home and his friends, his family and his ability to survive. Then propose him to change his addiction to other one which does not lead to such horrible results. A lot of people are addicted to something but many of them are doing fine with it. Some people addicted to sex, to travels, to marijuana for example. Ken Kesey told he is smoking old man, and look at him, his life is great.
   Even better for him to get some good hobbie, collect something, make bicycles etc. Open his eyes I mean, noone wants to die suffering at the edge of the road.
   Or maybe his fate is to face poverty? Some people can not change themselves before it happens

I have really been here and it is not that easy as most people see it. It was very hard helping a friend of mine to really face that reality and until he was ready to face it himself before I could be of much help. One thing is for them to accept first that they need help and the only way I was able to do that after this, is by first letting him understand how much he could have saved if he did not get too addicted in the first place and how he just have to forget the past, forget about luck or trying to recover what is lost and then starting afresh.

With that, I made sure he gets so occupied by finding him a new hobby (that is very important) and rather than gambling, I had to look for other interesting things for us to do as fun in our spare time together so as to gradually fade off those impulse. This took about 8 months and really, that was when I realized that addiction is a very bad thing. Now, he is doing well and now sees gambling as a plague in his life.

You're seriously a very nice gambler, and I understand from your query that's he's getting way to deep, well you need to first sit with him and speak with him, try and see what's making him gamble, it could be a pure passion, heartbreak, something that's happened. Try and explain him the consequences if he goes to deep, show him stories of past gambler's, try and speak with him to lock his funds with a trusted person and undertake counselling if needed.

This is hard to stop one people to gamble if he/she already addicted but this is not yet late you can help your friend to stop gambling just keep him busy, since your friends have lots of money just ask him to go out of town just her/his time consumed in other things do not let him/her to have free time and i think it will help to avoid gambling.

Take him on vacation, get him busy, remind him that he is addicted and must stop soon. Slow down, you can not force him because he will not like that. Never speak more than just remind him. He will listen to your words if you are his friend. You also have to be patient because things like this can not be done quickly.

Gambling is obviously not something anyone can help others get through easily except they are willing to get help themselves. It is not about being smart, it is just the mindset that makes most people allow the gambling impulse get over them and once it does, it is always hard to recover from it except they challenge themselves to stop. There is no successful gambling and the only thing that can make you ever successful is luck or the ability to control yourself and classify it as just fun which still does not make you successful as you may be bound to lose or even lose everything if care is not taken.

It is not easy to help someone who is already addicted. He just needs to get convince so he gives it up for good. You cannot just force him to stop gambling. You will just fulfill your duty as a friend. First, you should advise him and draws him the drawbacks of gambling addiction.

Second, you should keep an eye on him and support him when he is about to make a mistake. If he does not listen to you, then let him do what he wants until he finds himself chained. Only then will he realize his mistake and only then will you stand by his side. That's what friends are for.

Firstly you need to check whether your friend is willing to come out of this habit or not because if he don't want then very difficult to do it. But he says yes then you can do it. Just short vacation may not help for a fully addicted gambler because they may again start after the vacation. I think you also need their family members help because you can't watch him always so you need to get their family help to keep him busy with other things and monitor him when he sits in front of a computer for few months until he forgets about it.

Its simple explain to him that gambling is on 50/50 winning chance. He can lost all his money  it can ruin his life.

Someone who is already in that moment is obviously not going to see anything bad in what they are doing even if they really want to admit it. No matter how you show them those who have lost so much in gambling, the impulse will still keep bringing them back and that is where it really gets bad.

I feel the best just like you have said is to compel such people into getting a new hobby which can really help them to gradually stop their gambling habit as they get more occupied but everything still balls down to the mind state.

I'm sure all gambler knows about it already. Only stupid gamblers who think that they would never got lose while gambling. So telling them about it is just useless, to stop gambling should be started from the gambler not from others around. If the gambler really wants to stop then there will be a way to stop but if the gambler is not really serious to stop then it will be very hard to stop.

Encourage him to stop playing by doing other activities like playing basketball or any sports he is interested in.

If that didnt work better ask him to seek professional help before he become addicted because when that happens it will be hard to get away and it can lead to many unwanted situations.

As a friend being someone to talk to is a big help to overcome his current problem so dont be tired to understand what hes been going through.

It's true, because gamble addiction can be a diseas
I have many friends that can spend all the salary in the slot machines..
Try to speak with him, and maybe he need more sociable life

I'd try to incite him to join some kind of activity whether a social or a sport activity to fill out his free time and keep him busy from thinking or practicing gambling . I would also try to make him not use a computer or a smartphone so he won't be able to gamble on any website and be with him whenever i can so he won't go to land based casinos .

If you really want to help him, then you must be willing to spend a lot of time with him. You must prevent him when he will touch the gambling-related items and try to invite him to do other more useful activities.

well you have just said that your CLOSE friend,so it only means that in a sense he will listen to you.and might respect your advices and concerns.

Heres one great thing how to help him,since your a close friend,you know something or more special thing about him,most of all what makes him happy and his interests in life.i knew some gambler that get into addicted becoz of frustrations,greed and eagerness..so what you do is BE WITH HIM,GO WITH HIM IN HIS INTEREST.LET HIM FEEL THAT NOT ONLY GAMBLING CAN GIVE HIM SATISFACTION IN LIFE..that the world is wide and has more to offer him..

He knows that you know about his problem? If yes then you should talk about this to him and if he still wants to gamble just try to keep his minds away from gambling. Go to a bar together, play computer games or just do whatever you both like to do as friends. This will distract him from gambling so he will gamble less. If this won't work and he will still gamble, try to explain all the bad things that might happen if he won't stop gambling this much, like loss of friends family and house and so on.

To help a friend to stop gambling addiction, you should first have a good knowledge about it, and why he got addicted first, because if you know a lot, you will have a great arguments to allow him ti quit this addiction, but it's not easy, you should talk about the negative effects of addiction in short and long terms, and persuade him slowly to quit it.

An addicted gambler would not really listen already to his friend specially when the addiction is already severe which some to a point on where he almost compromise everything. As a friend we would really be concern on the possible things happen ahead because we are really aware that it would happen if he would decide to continue such addiction.

i consider addicted is brain sick and mentally sick so it won't be so easy to get cure because to healing those who being addicted then common medicines is not enough for them also although you give them plenty of advices which is good words to makes your friend stop gambling then i think it will be useless because he would continue his habit but to stop gambling have to come from his bottom of heart and strong desire because if he hasn't have it then it will be so difficult

Well he mentioned that his friend is only "getting addicted", so he's not addicted yet. I don't know if it is like this, I have never been addicted, but i'm sure that he still can somehow control his urge to gamble with help of close friend.

No one can help him if he doesn't wish to stop. He will always find time to go to casino and spend money there. What you can do is to not give him money for that, you need to tell everyone to not borrow him money, if he works and have salary his parents or wife should take the most and to give him just for daily needs, never more then that. You can control him as long as you control the money!
All this steps are a bit radical but if you wish to stop him to spend his money in casino you should do that. But before everything talk with him, and maybe he just likes to gamble and learn him how to control his money and to never spend more then he have and especially to not borrow money, if he can pull this off then maybe you should let him gamble and do what he wish to do.

Addiction is a slow person and although the person who is addicted doesn't seem to see the signs, the family and friends if they are vigilant are able to see it, once it is noticed, they should start talking to the person so that he knows what's wrong with him/her. Organising and attending a support group for gamblers with the addict will be very helpful.