I have seen someone that is not a gambling addict, but was at work when games was about to start, so he left his working environment with the excuse that he wanted to get water to drink, while in reality he wanted to get to the nearest betting shop fast to play his bet before the start of the games.
If this isn’t a clear sign of gambling addiction then I don’t know what to call it, to be honest.
Making up excuses or even lying to leave work or not attend family meeting just because you can’t resist the urge to gamble or because you don’t won’t to miss the chance to place some bets is a clear sign that you are a gambling addict.
Looking for excuses or saying that doing such thing is normal means that you are not only an addict but also that you are in a state of denial.
Putting gambling first and ignoring other important things that have to do with work and career is a sign of gambling addiction, but some gamblers don’t see it as a sign of addiction because they have failed to examine themselves to see how they are approaching gambling, whether it is the right way or not. Gambling is something you need to do in your free time and not abandon important things. Most people are not even aware when they are slowly becoming addicted to gambling.
It's hard to deal with addiction when you don't even know it's an addiction already or you don't think you're addicted but then as a gambler there are certain things that comes first before ambling, so when you start prioritizing gambling before those things then I mean it's a serious sign of an addiction. Especially when it gets to the point where you lost control over your own actions, like even when you feel like you should be doing something else and you discover that you just keep gambling and gambling then it's a serious sign of an addiction.
I might say you on point with this statement you just made mention the red flags you all did mention are sounding exactly like what addiction well looks like and the funniest part of it is that is that not knowing you are even addicted to it and it sounds so much as a trick most times…well the truth is that when someone is been addicted is start like a joke and it sound more like fun at the very beginning with the words, I can stop anytime I want.
And then here is how it feels then gambling have to comes before rent, food, family time, work, sleep.…that’s when it stops being a game. If bet slip is more important than what keeps your life stable, that’s a wake up call…and that how it all started for most users even in the forum here…