Is Gambling A Hobby?

[junder]

Yes, we have different views about it but for me, gambling should not be considered a hobby, unlike sports activities as it has way different results, and most of the time it is negative. If a person says gambling is good it simply means that he/she is doing well and not addicted to it but those people who say negative might possibly be experiencing bad about it. That all can be possible but thinking of doing this every day is not good anymore and is close to addiction which should not happen to us. Too much time spent in gambling has never ended in a good story, most of them make terrible mistakes causing big losses and compromise their financial capabilities.

However, gambling should not be considered as a hobby because most likely what will happen is our money being drained, in my opinion. Even though we have certain limits, there is a chance that we can lose control and that can result in our money being lost in just one gambling session. When gambling is done every day, I think it is a gambling addiction, because when gamblers gamble every day, it is very possible that they will not be able to stop gambling. Apart from that, I think gambling every day can make your finances messy because there is a big possibility that the pull of gambling can make someone forget themselves or as you said, approach a gambling addiction.

indeed spending a lot of time gambling is certainly not good, apart from that I think gambling can divert our focus, sometimes when we are busy gambling we can forget about other things because we are already carried away by the atmosphere of gambling and of course that will make us focus only on gambling while there are There are other things to pay attention to besides gambling. with those who experience big losses, of course they take actions that are not considered.

[Dewi Aries]

We can decide to make gambling an hobby the same way the next person can decide to make gambling as a skill or a job. We have the right to do whatever thing with gambling and the angle we are seeing it should be different since we have different people with different perception and comprehensive interface. A person can come here and write about how they have been making consistent profits from gambling while the next person might have to lament about how they have been losing continually from gambling and asking for advise on whether to stop gambling or continue so they can recover their lost funds. We all see gambling from different perspectives.

Yes, we have different views about it but for me, gambling should not be considered a hobby, unlike sports activities as it has way different results, and most of the time it is negative. If a person says gambling is good it simply means that he/she is doing well and not addicted to it but those people who say negative might possibly be experiencing bad about it. That all can be possible but thinking of doing this every day is not good anymore and is close to addiction which should not happen to us. Too much time spent in gambling has never ended in a good story, most of them make terrible mistakes causing big losses and compromise their financial capabilities.

If we talk as a whole then yes what you say is true that overall gambling is an activity that has an impact that tends to be negative, or what it means is that the negative and positive impacts are not balanced because overall the negative impacts are far worse than the positive benefits, and also the majority of people involved in gambling most of them experience these negative impacts, only a few of them are really in the safe zone. And I believe that one of the reasons is because the object of winning in gambling is money which we all always need money which in the end the object often makes gamblers lose their way and fall into unconsciousness.

And I also agree that gambling cannot be made into a hobby because after all the activity is too risky to always be done frequently in the long run, and it cannot be denied that even if for example in the beginning you were a responsible gambler but it is possible to eventually experience many downturns due to the adverse effects of gambling, because gambling has a lot of temptations that look tempting that can make gamblers fall into it unconsciously, so we better think rationally to find a reasonable answer that gambling cannot or should not be made into a hobby.

[taufik123]

Nope, in my view gambling is a style of life rather than a hobby. True and abstracted gamblers will bet on everything even on tomorrow's whether and it doesn't matter with whom and where. They are  gambling in the sake of process which is part of their psychologic life. I'm not in their class. For me personally gambling is a kinf of  "hash-time"  session when spending  my leisure time.

Somehow someone considers gambling as a lifestyle or as a hobby, but gambling will indeed be a place to relieve stress when used appropriately and what exactly is the end goal.

As for how gambling is used as a hobby, it may start from games or bets that are just to release stress.
I myself do a few games just to fill my free time, and don't really take gambling seriously.

Gambling as a hobby or not depends on how their initial goal is, if it is indeed a hobby then there will be no pressure to always have to win or get profits.
But if gambling aims to earn more income, it will be a different story and there will be more pressure going on.

[KTChampions]

Any hobby is an addiction (otherwise why would a person voluntarily engage in it?) and can become a severe form of addiction that will negatively affect a person. For example, computer games and collecting in them. I work in this field and I see with my own eyes how people pay a lot of money to own virtual items. And to be honest, this even affects me - I’m starting to value some virtual things more than money. So you need to understand that any activity can be dangerous if it turns into a severe form of addiction, and gambling is not much different from other activities.

Gambling can be a hobby, but when you have an addiction to gambling, it can no longer be called a hobby; instead, it is a vice that is difficult to let go of. But even so, when it becomes a habit, we should try to return to normal gambling instead of worsening our condition by becoming addicted to gambling.

Although it is not easy to do and it will take a long time, let's try as much as we can to control ourselves because, in the end, if we neglect or just let it go,
the result will not be good in the end, that's for sure.

Can you name at least one hobby that is not accompanied by addiction? No matter who I look at, everyone's hobby (if they have one) is of great importance. Garden lovers almost cry if they are unable to grow their favorite variety of tomatoes, similarly with flower lovers, how collectors suffer from the absence of some nonsense in their collection is difficult to describe in words, etc. It is obvious to me that if a person does something voluntarily, spends time, energy and money on it, then he has an addiction to it.

[LUCKMCFLY]

Although it is not easy to do and it will take a long time, let's try as much as we can to control ourselves because, in the end, if we neglect or just let it go,
the result will not be good in the end, that's for sure.

I consider that when things get out of control they will never be a hobby or anything fun , Especially because what is lost is money and that is already something delicate, therefore when we decide to do things right we must have great money management so as not to lose it completely, fun at the casino can depend on ourselves, we can play once or twice a Week , but we should still make reasonable bets and not something that harms us, if we play every day the most probable thing is that we will have an impressive money leak, then it is not something profitable , I would not say that it is a hobby, I would define it as adult fun.

[Promocodeudo]

When I was young, I thought gambling was an opportunity to get rich. But then, as I gained experience in life, it became clearer and clearer that gambling should not be considered as a way of earning money. It is enough for an adult to google to realise that gambling cannot be considered in any other way but as a hobby.

There is so far a distance between Gambling and Hobby! Gambling is a game but few people take it addiction. An addicted person takes it addiction when they're deeply engaged in gambling the majority time of his or her days or nights. Gambling isn't a way to be rich overnight to win a lot of gambling boards. If they win one board but lose many boards. So, I can say gambling wasn't a shortcut way to earn a lot of money. So avoid it with 0% of interest.

Gambling is not supposed to be seen as an hobby because people can easily become addicted to it and it could become big addiction if gamblers do not take time being careful about it. I know there are some gamblers who are very scrupulous about gambling but what will be the fate of other gamblers who are not so careful about the way and manners they are gambling. The most important thing is for us to be very careful and make decisions that would be very favourable for so we don't end up being in careful when it comes to gambling. The level of risk and how frequently we gamble is very important.

Hobby is something people do when they are free and the main purpose is for a good emotional satisfaction that enables someone to be free from over thinking of future problems, so how does this relate to gambling, gambling can streas individual emotionally and for me anything that involves emotional stress is not a hobby, although individual perception differs however, be it as it may gambling can not be a hobby most times gamblers refer addiction to hobby, hobby can not triger you spend unrealistic funds but gambing do, i have checked and recheck there is know connection between the two, i have heard people say that they gamble for fun but i dont believe that because it is almost impossible for anyone to spend money in gambling without the expectation of winning so in real sense gambling is not a hobby.

[Fortify]

First of all I will like to define hobby in my own understanding. Something that one like to do always either for pleasure, leisure or entertainment. And example of hobbies which I know. Swimming which can be a game as well, reading which can also be a competition as " reading competition", and anything competition is a game, and sport. Sport can be someone hobby if the person love sports and like to partake in it. And that means something you partake that you have leisure and pleasure can be your hobby.

Why I brought this topic because someone told me here that https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5491756.msg63928115#msg63928115 gambling is not a hobby and from my viewpoint gambling can be a hobby for the addicted gamblers and that argument made me to do some research and I also came up with this Gambling can be a harmless hobby or a serious addiction. and also from another source again
And lot more.

Upon all those sources and explanation, I still need the community input on the argument to know if gambling is a HOBBY so that I and the person will understand more.
Cheers.

It does come down to a level of self control, but even at the extremes it could still be defined as a hobby. You could have someone who is a mini train railway enthusiast who puts all their money into that activity to the same degree as someone you might define as having a gambling problem. Just because people associate gambling with a nefarious activity does not exclude it from being a hobby too. It's better if you keep all your hobbies under control and not let it invade your whole lifestyle, but that would not be limited to gambling. Unless you are aspiring to become a professional player in a skilled game like poker, then you can only ever really gamble casually because it will eventually eat up all of your cash if you let it.

[Toro iskandar]

Each person's point of view has its own differences regarding concluding the view of gambling activities as a hobby. However, I agree with you that a hobby is an activity that is done regularly, not forced and the result will be that we who do it will feel happy and happy.
However, if there are people who say that gambling is their daily hobby, in my opinion they are gambling addicts who do it as often as possible and they will feel happy if they continue to play and play.
However, the real fact is that gambling has a very high risk and if someone does it excessively and does not have a schedule and betting money limits, then it is clear that it is not a real hobby.

That's true, indeed a hobby is something that is done regularly and of course with pleasure in doing it, but most people who gamble don't like it, especially when they lose. Many of them feel annoyed when they lose and that indicates that gambling is basically not for a hobby, even though for rich people who have a lot of money maybe it can be a hobby but that doesn't mean it's good, because of course even though they have a lot of money the same thing still exists, namely the risk of losing which is certain, especially when they have a lot of money if they don't can control themselves then they will have more freedom to gamble.
It is true that gambling has high risks, it is not surprising that many people who lose a lot of money also experience a lot of problems when they gamble because they are not happy that the money they gambled on is lost. I think that hobbies are not good as hobbies, even if they are for entertainment, I think there are still many things that can be done and maybe there are some that can provide clear benefits.

Defeat in gambling is indeed something that is avoided and hated by gamblers, but in reality, gamblers cannot avoid the defeat that often occurs there and the victory that is dreamed of and awaited by all gamblers is very difficult to achieve.
That's right, people who have a lot of money and they make gambling one of their hobbies is a wrong analysis, indeed at first they will feel happy every time they play gambling and placing bets is not a problem for them, but if they often lose in gambling for a long time, maybe they will realize by themselves that their hobby which they consider is a disaster for their life.

[irsykes]

Hobby can make people happy and have a good impact on having positive activities that they like. But everyone's views are different, I respect that. My view is that gambling is not a complete hobby, it could be the effect of a heavy addict who enjoys the sensation of betting, but the effect is mostly bad, not positive. In today's internet world, hobbies that can make money are extraordinary, such as being positive content creators. This is more supportive of being able to earn money. It's just capital for creative ideas, but if we gamble we have to have capital to bet and the rest is just hoping to win or end up losing. If you can't control most of the bad impacts will come

[hyudien]

Hobby can make people happy and have a good impact on having positive activities that they like. But everyone's views are different, I respect that. My view is that gambling is not a complete hobby, it could be the effect of a heavy addict who enjoys the sensation of betting, but the effect is mostly bad, not positive. In today's internet world, hobbies that can make money are extraordinary, such as being positive content creators. This is more supportive of being able to earn money. It's just capital for creative ideas, but if we gamble we have to have capital to bet and the rest is just hoping to win or end up losing. If you can't control most of the bad impacts will come

That's right, hobbies are usually done to entertain ourselves and seem to have no negative side or bad impact, but with gambling it can have a negative side where losing money can trigger our emotions which can lead us to actions that are at great risk. Gambling has quite serious side effects, moreover gambling can indeed make players become addicted and forget reasonable limits so that the stakes are their own lives that can become messy. It is not strange for many people to have their lives fall apart because of gambling but that is the fault of the individual himself.
It would be nice if we could have a hobby that could make money or profit, even though gambling has the opportunity to make money but it is not certain, therefore it is better not to make gambling a hobby, it is better to find another hobby that is indeed a risk or the impact is not too bad for ourselves, after all there are still many other things that can be used as a hobby, even if you have enough money I don't think you should make gambling a hobby, but if there are people who make gambling a hobby just hope they can control everything so that no serious problems occur.

[Accardo]

Although it is not easy to do and it will take a long time, let's try as much as we can to control ourselves because, in the end, if we neglect or just let it go,
the result will not be good in the end, that's for sure.

I consider that when things get out of control they will never be a hobby or anything fun , Especially because what is lost is money and that is already something delicate, therefore when we decide to do things right we must have great money management so as not to lose it completely, fun at the casino can depend on ourselves, we can play once or twice a Week , but we should still make reasonable bets and not something that harms us, if we play every day the most probable thing is that we will have an impressive money leak, then it is not something profitable , I would not say that it is a hobby, I would define it as adult fun.

Gambling as a hobby has never been a huge trouble for some players and it's not wrong to participate on things that interest us. I've experienced that gamblers actually suffer lots of challenges when it comes with giving things they love a break. Sometimes when gaming gets to me in this manner that doesn't allow me enough time to handle other activities, avoiding the casino would be my best choice.

Most players don't harness the control of taking a nice decision, when gambling is eating up their time. Have always wondered  why, but after experiencing it, I realized how impulsive it is when a player doesn't stop and avoid gambling. This leads to problematic gambling and affects the productivity of the player.

[topbitcoin]

Hobby can make people happy and have a good impact on having positive activities that they like. But everyone's views are different, I respect that. My view is that gambling is not a complete hobby, it could be the effect of a heavy addict who enjoys the sensation of betting, but the effect is mostly bad, not positive. In today's internet world, hobbies that can make money are extraordinary, such as being positive content creators. This is more supportive of being able to earn money. It's just capital for creative ideas, but if we gamble we have to have capital to bet and the rest is just hoping to win or end up losing. If you can't control most of the bad impacts will come

To be honest, I don't agree if gambling is used as a hobby, because this is something different in a context that we know where hobbies have a positive impact on us, even though everyone has different hobbies and there are negative money things and positive things that can be included in the standard, but the level of the problem at its core is addiction in carrying out the hobby, let's say you like fishing, then you fish so much in the river that you don't want to go home and don't want to work because you still really want to fish, isn't that also a positive thing and becomes negative when you overdo it.

And try to reflect this on gambling, where if it aims to find pleasure in gambling it will have a positive impact because it will change our mood, but if we cross the line and overplay gambling it is not a good thing because it will have a bad impact on the environment, especially finances, so if you want gambling to be a hobby then we must be good at managing emotions, money and time to gamble so that we can gamble responsibly.

[Sg4j1n3ll0]

Although it is not easy to do and it will take a long time, let's try as much as we can to control ourselves because, in the end, if we neglect or just let it go,
the result will not be good in the end, that's for sure.

I consider that when things get out of control they will never be a hobby or anything fun , Especially because what is lost is money and that is already something delicate, therefore when we decide to do things right we must have great money management so as not to lose it completely, fun at the casino can depend on ourselves, we can play once or twice a Week , but we should still make reasonable bets and not something that harms us, if we play every day the most probable thing is that we will have an impressive money leak, then it is not something profitable , I would not say that it is a hobby, I would define it as adult fun.

Gambling as a hobby has never been a huge trouble for some players and it's not wrong to participate on things that interest us. I've experienced that gamblers actually suffer lots of challenges when it comes with giving things they love a break. Sometimes when gaming gets to me in this manner that doesn't allow me enough time to handle other activities, avoiding the casino would be my best choice.

Most players don't harness the control of taking a nice decision, when gambling is eating up their time. Have always wondered  why, but after experiencing it, I realized how impulsive it is when a player doesn't stop and avoid gambling. This leads to problematic gambling and affects the productivity of the player.

in my opinion, gambling understood as such cannot be a genuine entertainment, it can be if there is no money involved but when one makes a bet he always does it only for the money or for the pleasure of winning it and it is not It's easy to control this impulse many times, it's easy when you bet on an event that you can only bet on once a week where the bets are limited, now where we can all play on everything it seems impossible to me

[slapper]

Hobby can make people happy and have a good impact on having positive activities that they like. But everyone's views are different, I respect that. My view is that gambling is not a complete hobby, it could be the effect of a heavy addict who enjoys the sensation of betting, but the effect is mostly bad, not positive. In today's internet world, hobbies that can make money are extraordinary, such as being positive content creators. This is more supportive of being able to earn money. It's just capital for creative ideas, but if we gamble we have to have capital to bet and the rest is just hoping to win or end up losing. If you can't control most of the bad impacts will come

To be honest, I don't agree if gambling is used as a hobby, because this is something different in a context that we know where hobbies have a positive impact on us, even though everyone has different hobbies and there are negative money things and positive things that can be included in the standard, but the level of the problem at its core is addiction in carrying out the hobby, let's say you like fishing, then you fish so much in the river that you don't want to go home and don't want to work because you still really want to fish, isn't that also a positive thing and becomes negative when you overdo it.

And try to reflect this on gambling, where if it aims to find pleasure in gambling it will have a positive impact because it will change our mood, but if we cross the line and overplay gambling it is not a good thing because it will have a bad impact on the environment, especially finances, so if you want gambling to be a hobby then we must be good at managing emotions, money and time to gamble so that we can gamble responsibly.

As with anything else in life, hobbies can spiral out of control if you allow them. Hobbies should be enjoyable, something to do to have fun and de-stress; not something that will make you feel even more stressed. Gambling as hobby requires wisdom: learn when to stop. Its about recognizing your boundaries and, of course, having a great time. Like anything in life, things will get out of hand if you are unable to regulate yourself. You have to respect your money and yourself. Everything boils down to awareness. That distinguishes between an addiction and a pastime. It has to do with trust-building and honesty with oneself. It has to do with your relationships as much as money. Everything else in your life will suffer if you start to blow it with gambling. Keeping things real, man.

[Accardo]

Gambling as a hobby has never been a huge trouble for some players and it's not wrong to participate on things that interest us. I've experienced that gamblers actually suffer lots of challenges when it comes with giving things they love a break. Sometimes when gaming gets to me in this manner that doesn't allow me enough time to handle other activities, avoiding the casino would be my best choice.

Most players don't harness the control of taking a nice decision, when gambling is eating up their time. Have always wondered  why, but after experiencing it, I realized how impulsive it is when a player doesn't stop and avoid gambling. This leads to problematic gambling and affects the productivity of the player.

in my opinion, gambling understood as such cannot be a genuine entertainment, it can be if there is no money involved but when one makes a bet he always does it only for the money or for the pleasure of winning it and it is not It's easy to control this impulse many times, it's easy when you bet on an event that you can only bet on once a week where the bets are limited, now where we can all play on everything it seems impossible to me

I think the hobbyist should spend time on demo gambling. As it could be more dangerous going for the betting aspect of it. One shouldn't tag gambling a hobby when money is involved. Have always thought of hobby as things that didn't require the hobbyist to spend money. Reading, running, dancing, are things people love doing when they are not being paid.

Hence, if a gambler feels to be doing it as a hobby he should avoid staking money on the game. Because it will only obstruct the goal of the gambler and lead him to something else, which may advance his thoughts towards going for more money. Limiting the game is also a nice decision expected of hobbyist, it's definitely sad to regret participating in our hobby. So, the player must be careful whenever money is required.

[irsykes]

Hobby can make people happy and have a good impact on having positive activities that they like. But everyone's views are different, I respect that. My view is that gambling is not a complete hobby, it could be the effect of a heavy addict who enjoys the sensation of betting, but the effect is mostly bad, not positive. In today's internet world, hobbies that can make money are extraordinary, such as being positive content creators. This is more supportive of being able to earn money. It's just capital for creative ideas, but if we gamble we have to have capital to bet and the rest is just hoping to win or end up losing. If you can't control most of the bad impacts will come

To be honest, I don't agree if gambling is used as a hobby, because this is something different in a context that we know where hobbies have a positive impact on us, even though everyone has different hobbies and there are negative money things and positive things that can be included in the standard, but the level of the problem at its core is addiction in carrying out the hobby, let's say you like fishing, then you fish so much in the river that you don't want to go home and don't want to work because you still really want to fish, isn't that also a positive thing and becomes negative when you overdo it.

And try to reflect this on gambling, where if it aims to find pleasure in gambling it will have a positive impact because it will change our mood, but if we cross the line and overplay gambling it is not a good thing because it will have a bad impact on the environment, especially finances, so if you want gambling to be a hobby then we must be good at managing emotions, money and time to gamble so that we can gamble responsibly.

As with anything else in life, hobbies can spiral out of control if you allow them. Hobbies should be enjoyable, something to do to have fun and de-stress; not something that will make you feel even more stressed. Gambling as hobby requires wisdom: learn when to stop. Its about recognizing your boundaries and, of course, having a great time. Like anything in life, things will get out of hand if you are unable to regulate yourself. You have to respect your money and yourself. Everything boils down to awareness. That distinguishes between an addiction and a pastime. It has to do with trust-building and honesty with oneself. It has to do with your relationships as much as money. Everything else in your life will suffer if you start to blow it with gambling. Keeping things real, man.

Yes, that's right, but hobby lovers definitely have rules where we have to be able to manage everything so that it is under control because a hobby is of course to relax the mind from the burden of stressful life which makes it healthy again, but if gambling becomes a hobby, most of it ends up being emotional which has a bad impact. This will definitely be a clash between family, friendship and romance, which means have to be prepared to accept the risk of gambling if can't control your finances.

[Cookdata]

Nope, in my view gambling is a style of life rather than a hobby. True and abstracted gamblers will bet on everything even on tomorrow's whether and it doesn't matter with whom and where. They are  gambling in the sake of process which is part of their psychologic life. I'm not in their class. For me personally gambling is a kinf of  "hash-time"  session when spending  my leisure time.

OP should have known better that gambling is subjective. Gambling can mean a scam to some people till the day they die, they will never see gambling as fun thing, social activity nor even a place to make money but see it as a place to lose, this is why some parents don't like it when they see their children indulging in it even if you are an adult person.

Some people see gambling as alternative to make money, whether we can disagree on this or agree on it, the fact remain the same that gambling is husle for some people and it works for them, no advice about gambling will make them see gambling as any other thing but money making place and their goal is always achieved, how they do this I don't understand but dedication, hardwork and believe is what I think works for them most often.

[Zigabel]

I consider that when things get out of control they will never be a hobby or anything fun , Especially because what is lost is money and that is already something delicate, therefore when we decide to do things right we must have great money management so as not to lose it completely, fun at the casino can depend on ourselves, we can play once or twice a Week , but we should still make reasonable bets and not something that harms us, if we play every day the most probable thing is that we will have an impressive money leak, then it is not something profitable , I would not say that it is a hobby, I would define it as adult fun.

Even if the hobby turns addictive, it still doesn't stop the fact that it's a hobby, it only stops been a hobby when we no longer do it for leisure or fun but for the sole purpose of making money, at that point it's no longer a hobby but an extra job for an extra income, also known as a job on the side. Even with an addictive habit, a hobby remains one only that at they point, it may be gradually turning into a harmful practice that may have some negative effects on the gambler and  in the long run becomes a problem for those who are around him too aswell.

[hyudien]

Even if the hobby turns addictive, it still doesn't stop the fact that it's a hobby, it only stops been a hobby when we no longer do it for leisure or fun but for the sole purpose of making money, at that point it's no longer a hobby but an extra job for an extra income, also known as a job on the side. Even with an addictive habit, a hobby remains one only that at they point, it may be gradually turning into a harmful practice that may have some negative effects on the gambler and  in the long run becomes a problem for those who are around him too aswell.

When making gambling as a hobby there is a possibility that it can become addictive, you can even say it is certain to happen, the risk is that our lives will be destroyed, moreover, gambling has its own charm that can make players forget about themselves. Making gambling a hobby in my opinion is better not, the same as making a side income which in my opinion is just as unclear, of course, even that allows it to be addictive as you said and with addiction it is certainly not an addiction that leads to positive things.
Addiction that can make us trapped allows it to have a negative effect in the long run, because gambling addiction is something that can make finances a mess, the focus of money will only be used on gambling and it is possible to ignore other things such as basic needs that should be considered more.  This is something that must be considered not to make gambling a hobby because it can be disastrous.

[simonnn]

I consider that when things get out of control they will never be a hobby or anything fun , Especially because what is lost is money and that is already something delicate, therefore when we decide to do things right we must have great money management so as not to lose it completely, fun at the casino can depend on ourselves, we can play once or twice a Week , but we should still make reasonable bets and not something that harms us, if we play every day the most probable thing is that we will have an impressive money leak, then it is not something profitable , I would not say that it is a hobby, I would define it as adult fun.

Even if the hobby turns addictive, it still doesn't stop the fact that it's a hobby, it only stops been a hobby when we no longer do it for leisure or fun but for the sole purpose of making money, at that point it's no longer a hobby but an extra job for an extra income, also known as a job on the side. Even with an addictive habit, a hobby remains one only that at they point, it may be gradually turning into a harmful practice that may have some negative effects on the gambler and  in the long run becomes a problem for those who are around him too aswell.

Initially gambling is a hobby but eventually it becomes an addiction when it involves money. You may indulge in gambling here outside of your normal activities but soon it starts causing you harm and the bad effects can spread from family to people around you. You can call an activity a hobby only when no money is involved. Gambling can be taken as a hobby when you can keep it within yourself but if it affects the lifestyle of those around you in a negative way then it is at the addiction stage.