Addiction is 100% your choice:

[Coyster]

These addictions are often seen in rich people only. A poor or middle-class guy gambles only to test his luck. He can’t afford to be addicted to gambling.

I don't think this is correct, be it rich, middle-class or poor, one can be addicted to gambling or any kind of addiction. Even people who do not have so much money either sell their properties, borrow or steal to gamble when they suffer from gambling addiction. The addiction basically has to do with lack of control in gambling, and when an individual lacks control in anything they do, they can go to any extent to make sure they do it, so not only rich people suffer from this.

[serjent05]

Almost 90% of the people who have a thing against gambling do so because they feel that gambling is addictive. But come to think of it, isn't addiction a choice? After reading lots of stories on the effects of being an addicted gambler, I feel it's 100% possible to tell myself that I can never be addicted to gambling and won't ever get addicted.

You don't understand psychology.
There are stronger and weaker personalities and I can give you a relationship example. Why does one person start dating after being left by a girlfriend or wife, but another goes into drinking and considers suicide? We all deal with things in a different way: some bend, while others break.
That's why you gamble and don't get addicted but other people can't stop thinking about gambling when they stop. They can't sleep. The only thing that relaxes them is winning a few rounds of poker or something.

If you are stating that gambling addiction is not 100% gambler's choice then I agree with you.  I believe there is more on gambling addiction than just being a choice.  Although initially, a person chooses to gamble but I believe that this same person doesn't want to get addicted.

Addiction is a process and gamblers do not instantly get addicted to gambling the moment they start engaging in gambling.  Many factors affect our reaction to gambling and to become addicted there is certainly a triggering factor that is unknown to the gambler.  Who would love to experience financial ruin?  Who wanted to be buried in debt?  Just like what you stated, people have different personality, weaknesses, and strengths.  It is unfortunate that people who fall victim and become gambling addicts fail to notice that they are getting addicted to gambling and it is late when they discover that they became a gambling addict.

[len01]

I hesitate to say this, but to be honest, I once experienced an addiction and stopped avoiding any online media and it was all because of my carelessness, I couldn't manage my finances and couldn't control myself to bet according to a predetermined schedule. But after I removed myself from the online world for a long time, I came back in a better condition without addiction.

After everything passed, this time I felt like I was never addicted (after I recovered) because I now have my own rules for betting on lower risks such as sports betting and set a budget not to spend more than $200. This way I am more comfortable and never feel addicted because I bet only on the sport I currently like without having to bet on other bets just to indulge my passion.

Maybe once in a while I bet on a casino game (which has a higher risk of addiction) and when I feel like I'm looking bad, I'll leave the casino game.

[davis196]

Almost 90% of the people who have a thing against gambling do so because they feel that gambling is addictive. But come to think of it, isn't addiction a choice? After reading lots of stories on the effects of being an addicted gambler, I feel it's 100% possible to tell myself that I can never be addicted to gambling and won't ever get addicted.

If for instance, I decide that I'm only going to gamble once a week and that at each time I will only gamble with an amount like $20 based on my current financial strength, would I ever become addicted to gambling?  Isn't it because you don't have any plan in place and just gamble as your spirit leads that makes you become careless with your gambling and become addicted to the process? Just want to ask this question;

Can you comfortably tell yourself that you have never been addicted to gambling and that you can never be addicted to gambling because of how you go about it?

Things are more complicated.
Your decision to start gambling is 100% your choice, but getting addicted isn't exactly your choice. Getting addicted is a complicated process of losing control over your behavior, so your addiction(or maybe your subconscious mind) starts making the choices for you(instead of your conscious mind). Your example of "gambling once a week with 20 USD budget" isn't valid all the time. Some people might resist the urge to gamble and stay away from addiction, while others will break their own rule of "gambling once a week with 20 dollars".
Some people are mentally weak, setting their own limits won't save them from getting addicted, because they lack self-discipline.

[Kelward]

Can you comfortably tell yourself that you have never been addicted to gambling and that you can never be addicted to gambling because of how you go about it?

You have to be very intentional about your gambling habits and activities for you not to become a dictated unconsciously to gambling. Just as the way most persons are suffering from internet or phone addiction without them even knowing that it is an addiction. They only become aware when they have to go without their phones and they begin to have withdrawal symptoms. Those who are deliberate and intentional cannot get addicted to gambling. And it is in the actions more than just the words.

I doubt that it's the choice of most gambling addicts to become so, it starts gradually without them knowing that they're degenerating to addiction. I don't think that anybody can intentionally engage in any harmful habits to the extent that they can not control themselves. It's often others that will tell them about it or if they no longer have the means to the addition like money and phones, that is when they'll realize the extent of their addictions. Gamblers needs to always make conscience efforts to be disciplined about mentaining responsible gambling habits so that they'll not unknowingly make wrong choices that can lead to addiction.

[GeorgeJohn]

Can you comfortably tell yourself that you have never been addicted to gambling and that you can never be addicted to gambling because of how you go about it?

You have to be very intentional about your gambling habits and activities for you not to become a dictated unconsciously to gambling. Just as the way most persons are suffering from internet or phone addiction without them even knowing that it is an addiction. They only become aware when they have to go without their phones and they begin to have withdrawal symptoms. Those who are deliberate and intentional cannot get addicted to gambling. And it is in the actions more than just the words.

I doubt that it's the choice of most gambling addicts to become so, it starts gradually without them knowing that they're degenerating to addiction. I don't think that anybody can intentionally engage in any harmful habits to the extent that they can not control themselves. It's often others that will tell them about it or if they no longer have the means to the addition like money and phones, that is when they'll realize the extent of their addictions. Gamblers needs to always make conscience efforts to be disciplined about mentaining responsible gambling habits so that they'll not unknowingly make wrong choices that can lead to addiction.

what makes people to be addicted in gambling is as a result of be over conscious of getting more, so many gamblers doesn't know actually know when they're conscious of participating in gambling frequently, so people who is in gambling and get addicted to it, they are just pursuing their losses and that is what makes them to be addicted, in gambling  its simple and quit understanding.

[m2017]

Almost 90% of the people who have a thing against gambling do so because they feel that gambling is addictive. But come to think of it, isn't addiction a choice? After reading lots of stories on the effects of being an addicted gambler, I feel it's 100% possible to tell myself that I can never be addicted to gambling and won't ever get addicted.

As if it depends on your decision.

The peculiarity of any addiction is that people are not able to independently influence the course of addiction formation.

If for instance, I decide that I'm only going to gamble once a week and that at each time I will only gamble with an amount like $20 based on my current financial strength, would I ever become addicted to gambling?  Isn't it because you don't have any plan in place and just gamble as your spirit leads that makes you become careless with your gambling and become addicted to the process? Just want to ask this question;

Systematic gameplay (control and time management) in gambling is certainly much better than chaotic gambling. Dosed gambling, I believe, could help avoid the onset of gambling addiction, the only question is whether you are ready for such limited boundaries in your gambling process.

Can you comfortably tell yourself that you have never been addicted to gambling and that you can never be addicted to gambling because of how you go about it?

I can tell. I definitely didn’t have a gaming addiction, because I didn’t devote much time to this type of activity. I’m also sure that I won’t develop this addiction, because now I’m focusing on other types of activities than gambling. By the way, this is one of the ways to switch from passion for gambling to something else: to become interested and passionate about something else. That is, re-focus of attention.

[Fivestar4everMVP]

Almost 90% of the people who have a thing against gambling do so because they feel that gambling is addictive. But come to think of it, isn't addiction a choice? After reading lots of stories on the effects of being an addicted gambler, I feel it's 100% possible to tell myself that I can never be addicted to gambling and won't ever get addicted.

If for instance, I decide that I'm only going to gamble once a week and that at each time I will only gamble with an amount like $20 based on my current financial strength, would I ever become addicted to gambling?  Isn't it because you don't have any plan in place and just gamble as your spirit leads that makes you become careless with your gambling and become addicted to the process? Just want to ask this question;

Can you comfortably tell yourself that you have never been addicted to gambling and that you can never be addicted to gambling because of how you go about it?

Well, I have never been addicted to gambling actually, and I can never be addicted because I already have equipped myself with more than enough knowledge to help me guide myself from ever gambling in a way that could lead me to becoming addicted.

But this is for me, I can't really say the same for others, because to be honest with you, there are people who are actually addicted to gambling that never had any intentions or knowledge that how they were or went about their gambling activities could land them to becoming gambling addicts.
And you remember this popular verse in the Bible "my people perish because they lack knowledge", this is what the situation is for many gamblers, having good knowledge of gambling addiction before hand helps you prevent yourself from falling into it, but for those who lack this knowledge while they were gambling, they are mostly the ones who end up finding themselves addicted to gambling.

[TopTort777]

People say that "a man is his own future blacksmith". And that describes gambling addiction very well. Imho a man must have a strong wish to dedicate all his time and money into gambling. A man must be desperate in earning money, that he sees gambling as a solution. And a man must have a low IQ. Combination of all those 3, creates a gambling addicted person. But, I dont think that we have many gambling addicted people in general. We have lots of loss chasers, that will quit when they think they have won back what have lost. Addicted people are something different.

[Alpha Marine]

That is the kind of general misconception which stop non-gamblers from having empathy for gamblers, they believe addiction is a choice, when in reality, it is not.

Exactly. It's the same with all kinds of addiction, to be honest. People feel like addicts just consciously decide to be addicts and they can just decide to stop being addicts and get on with it. When you have this kind of misconception you'll always have no empathy for addicts and that is why they're not helped.
Addiction starts unknowingly. From one bet per day, it increases to two a day. Before you know it you're placing 10 bets a day with a higher stake. It'll get to a stage where you can no longer be okay if you don't gamble. Gambling will be like a persistent craving that can never be satisfied but will make you believe you'll feel fine if you just gamble one more time.

Society as a whole needs to admit that addiction is not something that people decide to do purposefully and it's definitely they come out of just by snapping their fingers.

[Zoomic]

That is the kind of general misconception which stop non-gamblers from having empathy for gamblers, they believe addiction is a choice, when in reality, it is not.

Exactly. It's the same with all kinds of addiction, to be honest. People feel like addicts just consciously decide to be addicts and they can just decide to stop being addicts and get on with it. When you have this kind of misconception you'll always have no empathy for addicts and that is why they're not helped.
Addiction starts unknowingly. From one bet per day, it increases to two a day. Before you know it you're placing 10 bets a day with a higher stake. It'll get to a stage where you can no longer be okay if you don't gamble. Gambling will be like a persistent craving that can never be satisfied but will make you believe you'll feel fine if you just gamble one more time.

Society as a whole needs to admit that addiction is not something that people decide to do purposefully and it's definitely they come out of just by snapping their fingers.

OP is wrong for assuming that people intentionally decide to get addicted. Probably he had a different idea in mind but expressed it in a wrong way. As harmful as addiction is, no one should wish it for himself because it is capable of reducing one to nothing.

Gamblers may not wish to get addicted to gambling but they are still partially responsible if they eventually get addicted. Certain actions which we may think are insignificant helps to trigger addiction. That is why, it is better to tackle these things from the early stage instead of seeking for help when everything has become worse already.

We can only save ourselves from gambling addiction if we learn now to stick to our budgets and set a time frame for our gambling sessions. If we fail to do this and allow gambling control us instead, we will become victims too even before we notice it. There is no point putting blames on anyone or anything, we are responsible for what becomes of us as gamblers.

[hedgeh0g]

People say that "a man is his own future blacksmith". And that describes gambling addiction very well. Imho a man must have a strong wish to dedicate all his time and money into gambling. A man must be desperate in earning money, that he sees gambling as a solution. And a man must have a low IQ. Combination of all those 3, creates a gambling addicted person. But, I dont think that we have many gambling addicted people in general. We have lots of loss chasers, that will quit when they think they have won back what have lost. Addicted people are something different.

Many men perceive gambling as a personal challenge in which they want to see themselves as winners. Often these are players who have been involved in a particular sport and mistakenly think that they have an advantage over other players and even over the casino, but of course this is an illusion. All the time they believe in it, they place bets in the hope of making money on it, and there are special cases when they even fail to win back, but this only fuels their passion and the bets become more and more aggressive, until at one point the player will realize that he is left without money for food.

What I want to say is that everything depends on us and we need to control our emotions more, sometimes even I think that betting and any gambling is playing against ourselves.

[Hispo]

That is the kind of general misconception which stop non-gamblers from having empathy for gamblers, they believe addiction is a choice, when in reality, it is not.

...

Society as a whole needs to admit that addiction is not something that people decide to do purposefully and it's definitely they come out of just by snapping their fingers.

At least, that is the case with gambling addiction. In my experience, people seem to be rougher with those who abuse hard drugs, because there is a perception those who have become addicted to those "knew" what was coming to them if they started to consume them, quite similar to smokers who are diagnosed with lung problems and serious cardiovascular illnesses after years of diving in their habit/vice, there will be people who say they cannot complain or cannot cry about it because they "knew" about the consequences. Though, with gambling it tends to be different, because there are not external substances involved with the creation of addiction and because within the ecosystem of gambling there is always this aura of luxury and wealth which is conceived to attach gamblers to the gambling floor or their webpage (in the case of online casinos).

[ethereumhunter]

That is the kind of general misconception which stop non-gamblers from having empathy for gamblers, they believe addiction is a choice, when in reality, it is not.

Exactly. It's the same with all kinds of addiction, to be honest. People feel like addicts just consciously decide to be addicts and they can just decide to stop being addicts and get on with it. When you have this kind of misconception you'll always have no empathy for addicts and that is why they're not helped.
Addiction starts unknowingly. From one bet per day, it increases to two a day. Before you know it you're placing 10 bets a day with a higher stake. It'll get to a stage where you can no longer be okay if you don't gamble. Gambling will be like a persistent craving that can never be satisfied but will make you believe you'll feel fine if you just gamble one more time.

Society as a whole needs to admit that addiction is not something that people decide to do purposefully and it's definitely they come out of just by snapping their fingers.

They are not realizes if what they do is addiction. They just feels that they have fun and entertain doing that thing so they wants to do that over and over. If that is a gambling games, that will be dangerous for them because that can makes them lose much money without they realizes.

Becoming addiction is a choice if he aware that what he do can makes him addiction. It needs awareness to makes him see that if he lose control, he will start to become addicted. But many people thinks that they are still okay even if they playing gambling every day and only use small money. But in short term, they will not see the effect but if they still not realizes and don't wants to aware, they will becomes addicted to gambling someday. We must be careful when playing gambling and we control ourselves with strictly so we don't gets the bad effects from gambling.

[danherbias07]

People say that "a man is his own future blacksmith". And that describes gambling addiction very well. Imho a man must have a strong wish to dedicate all his time and money into gambling. A man must be desperate in earning money, that he sees gambling as a solution. And a man must have a low IQ. Combination of all those 3, creates a gambling addicted person. But, I dont think that we have many gambling addicted people in general. We have lots of loss chasers, that will quit when they think they have won back what have lost. Addicted people are something different.

I am one of those who chased my losses and then stopped for a long time. A week or maybe two but I didn't quit. I still play every now and then especially if I am an idle time and I cannot think of something that will take away my boredom.
For me, gambling has become one of the entertainment that could make me some money or lose it and I actually learned a discipline of acquiring the profits as I hit the minimum withdrawal required amount. It's better now although I learned my lesson the hard way. And I also believe that there's really not much addicted person in gambling, they can still control it but because of the amount of losses, they just want their revenge.

[Fredomago]

People say that "a man is his own future blacksmith". And that describes gambling addiction very well. Imho a man must have a strong wish to dedicate all his time and money into gambling. A man must be desperate in earning money, that he sees gambling as a solution. And a man must have a low IQ. Combination of all those 3, creates a gambling addicted person. But, I dont think that we have many gambling addicted people in general. We have lots of loss chasers, that will quit when they think they have won back what have lost. Addicted people are something different.

I am one of those who chased my losses and then stopped for a long time. A week or maybe two but I didn't quit. I still play every now and then especially if I am an idle time and I cannot think of something that will take away my boredom.
For me, gambling has become one of the entertainment that could make me some money or lose it and I actually learned a discipline of acquiring the profits as I hit the minimum withdrawal required amount. It's better now although I learned my lesson the hard way. And I also believe that there's really not much addicted person in gambling, they can still control it but because of the amount of losses, they just want their revenge.

More on trying to recovery but most of the time it turned against them and with emotion which leads them to aggressively try winning back their loss money, they forgot about controlling themselves and the outcome mostly losing more than they can afford to lose, it's a choice and a will coming from a person who wanted to keep playing either they are doing it for fun or for making money which is really something that affects how they think especially when things is not moving according to how they percept to be the outcome of their sessions.

Like you mentioned learning things the hard way mostly been the experienced of those gamblers who continue participating and doing their betting stuff around, they enjoy things even sometimes they still suffering as they exceed or they mismanage their finances.

[nara1892]

People say that "a man is his own future blacksmith". And that describes gambling addiction very well. Imho a man must have a strong wish to dedicate all his time and money into gambling. A man must be desperate in earning money, that he sees gambling as a solution. And a man must have a low IQ. Combination of all those 3, creates a gambling addicted person. But, I dont think that we have many gambling addicted people in general. We have lots of loss chasers, that will quit when they think they have won back what have lost. Addicted people are something different.

I am one of those who chased my losses and then stopped for a long time. A week or maybe two but I didn't quit. I still play every now and then especially if I am an idle time and I cannot think of something that will take away my boredom.
For me, gambling has become one of the entertainment that could make me some money or lose it and I actually learned a discipline of acquiring the profits as I hit the minimum withdrawal required amount. It's better now although I learned my lesson the hard way. And I also believe that there's really not much addicted person in gambling, they can still control it but because of the amount of losses, they just want their revenge.

At a glance, I see that you have a neutral understanding regarding gambling by understanding that you can make a profit but also by realizing that you can lose money, and now the problem that is within you is that you cannot completely let go or accept the defeat that has occurred, in I might say that you are a gambler who is irresponsible for all the decisions you have taken.

And maybe I will ask you about whether you chose to stop for a long time after experiencing defeat because you no longer had money to bet or you wanted to calm yourself down first? I hope that your goal in stopping is to calm yourself down and realize that if you continue then the situation will definitely be much worse, and I also hope that you can completely make peace with yourself to let go of everything you have lost. On the other hand, I hope you don't read it as a form of intimidation, this is nothing more than a normal question for you, friend.

[junder]

Many men perceive gambling as a personal challenge in which they want to see themselves as winners. Often these are players who have been involved in a particular sport and mistakenly think that they have an advantage over other players and even over the casino, but of course this is an illusion. All the time they believe in it, they place bets in the hope of making money on it, and there are special cases when they even fail to win back, but this only fuels their passion and the bets become more and more aggressive, until at one point the player will realize that he is left without money for food.

What I want to say is that everything depends on us and we need to control our emotions more, sometimes even I think that betting and any gambling is playing against ourselves.

I don't agree with those who want to see themselves as winners at gambling, because in my opinion winners at gambling are those who can gamble healthily with reasonable limits, don't gamble excessively, win at gambling? It's just a reward that rarely happens, but when it is obtained by the right person, the victory will definitely not be wasted. Many of them are addicted because they cannot be wise in gambling, such as accepting the end result of gambling that they do incorrectly. For example, with losses, many people gamble to win and when they lose or lose the money they bet on, they cannot accept it properly, they instead have thoughts of wanting to recover the losses that have occurred, and this is one of the things that makes many people become addicted to gambling.

depending on whether we can control ourselves or not, this is the right thing. If we can gamble with good self-control then there will be no problems such as losses or other things that occur. Not many people gamble with full awareness, but there are many who gamble with minimal awareness, thus creating a level of gambling addicts. I hope that those who are addicted to gambling can be aware and gamble properly with reasonable limits.

[Gozie51]

People say that "a man is his own future blacksmith". And that describes gambling addiction very well. Imho a man must have a strong wish to dedicate all his time and money into gambling. A man must be desperate in earning money, that he sees gambling as a solution. And a man must have a low IQ. Combination of all those 3, creates a gambling addicted person. But, I dont think that we have many gambling addicted people in general. We have lots of loss chasers, that will quit when they think they have won back what have lost. Addicted people are something different.

Yeah. I think I see the three classification you made as what could make someone become addicted to gamble but those are the extreme cases, the chronic addicts. On the contrary I know addicts who didn't have low IQ or sees gambling as solution for money making or the other last three of desperation. You can become addicted by mere checking out the betting stores either by accompanying a friend or by giving a try to betting and from that point you can give more try and that attraction becomes difficult to desist from. And like you said, this attraction can increase as the loses accumulate thereby leading to loss chasing. So there are classes of addiction, those who can stop on there own and those who can't stop but needs external help.

[Salahmu]

Almost 90% of the people who have a thing against gambling do so because they feel that gambling is addictive. But come to think of it, isn't addiction a choice? After reading lots of stories on the effects of being an addicted gambler, I feel it's 100% possible to tell myself that I can never be addicted to gambling and won't ever get addicted.

Sometimes to become an addict is never a choice because circumstances can make someone do things they never imagine to do because if you believe that addiction is a choice do you think that somebody with his complete sense will possibly choose to become an addict in gambling, the truth is that self discipline is very important because that's what keeps your mind focused however in the case of becoming an addict is actually something that can happen without the person even realizing himself because the moment you are gambling and possibly making some wining and from there the mind will starts going towards the things you could possibly achieve that's just the moment it will start coming and as days goes you continue gambling before you know you have gotten to the point were you cannot control yourself anymore, so in summary addition is not a choice but can be prevented if you have a control and self discipline.