At what point does entertainment become Addiction.

[AYOBA]

Most people start gambling for entertainment, fun or to try their luck but as time goes on, some people begin to spend more money and time than they expected to. Once you start hiding your gambling activities, start chasing losses, take loan to gamble or feel restless when you don’t gamble, it is a sign that gambling is now more than entertainment. The truth is that addiction does not just happen overnight. It’s start little by little until  it starts affecting your finance, relationships, and peace of mind. So my question now is. How can a person know if  he or she is still gambling for entertainment or if addiction has Started taking control over them.

Gambling addiction easily comes a moment a gamblers begin lose their money, because once they start losing money they the next step is to chasing their losing and then from there it will eventually lead to the addiction. And that’s I wonder those that said they only gamble just for entertainment, imagine where the money is involved and they knows that they lost but still call it entertainment.

Before only peoples that gamble just for entertainment are those rich men’s, but as it be now since they notice that losing is higher than win not all of them can afford to gamble just fun anymore because addiction follow up with immediately.

[Muba20]

Most people start gambling for entertainment, fun or to try their luck but as time goes on, some people begin to spend more money and time than they expected to. Once you start hiding your gambling activities, start chasing losses, take loan to gamble or feel restless when you don’t gamble, it is a sign that gambling is now more than entertainment. The truth is that addiction does not just happen overnight. It’s start little by little until  it starts affecting your finance, relationships, and peace of mind. So my question now is. How can a person know if  he or she is still gambling for entertainment or if addiction has Started taking control over them.

There is no universal method for determining whether gambling is recreational or addictive. The main problem is that most gamblers don't realize when they have become addicted to gambling. In my opinion, the main reason is that gambling is a long-term and regular habit. Since we have to deposit money while gambling, a different mentality towards half-earnings also works outside of entertainment. This mentality of getting the deposited money back gradually creates an addiction to gambling. We must learn proper self-control while gambling and gamble with the amount of money we can afford to lose. If we don't gamble regularly, if we take breaks, the chances of becoming addicted to gambling are low. In other words, if we don't have self-control while gambling, it becomes an addiction.

[Mpamaegbu]

Anything we do in hiding and away from preying eyes, it shows that we know that what we're doing is bad. The first judge of man is the conscience. For instance, if we can't drink alcohol in the presence of our parents or priests, it shows we believe we're doing something wrong. It's the same thing that goes with gambling and its addiction. Once we begin to hide our consistent reliance on gambling to get a sense of relief, then we should know we've got to that point of extremism. That's a point to seek help. Sadly, those who need help hardly realize they do need it. It takes someone around them to get it done for them. This is where loved ones should come in and help them get help.

[aioc]

How can a person know if  he or she is still gambling for entertainment or if addiction has Started taking control over them.

When gambling has become his priority, and all his money is allocated to gambling, and his only focus is on how to win, he neglects his family, his job, and everything that used to be important in his life.
This is the situation where he lost control of his life. People who are addicted to gambling live a miserable life, so it's something we gamblers avoid.

[xenomorfo]

Gambling addiction easily comes a moment a gamblers begin lose their money, because once they start losing money they the next step is to chasing their losing and then from there it will eventually lead to the addiction. And that?s I wonder those that said they only gamble just for entertainment, imagine where the money is involved and they knows that they lost but still call it entertainment.

Before only peoples that gamble just for entertainment are those rich men?s, but as it be now since they notice that losing is higher than win not all of them can afford to gamble just fun anymore because addiction follow up with immediately.

I don't agree, you can gamble with 50 cents, it's no longer fun for the rich.
Of course, if you want to spend $1000 on gambling but have a normal salary, obviously you can't do it.
It would change if you play 50 cents instead of $1000, not for me because it's a game. You have to ask yourself this question.

[Hardyrobust]

 when a gambler can stay a day without gambling even if they said that they gamble for entertainment then addiction has already set in. Those that see gambling as a means of entertainment shouldn't allow themselves to be so much soak into gambling to avoid being addicted. Someone that see gambling as entertainment won't be chasing after losses so the op is right, when a gambler starts chasing after losses addiction has already creeped in .

[Z_MBFM]

Most people start gambling for entertainment, fun or to try their luck but as time goes on, some people begin to spend more money and time than they expected to. Once you start hiding your gambling activities, start chasing losses, take loan to gamble or feel restless when you don’t gamble, it is a sign that gambling is now more than entertainment. The truth is that addiction does not just happen overnight. It’s start little by little until  it starts affecting your finance, relationships, and peace of mind. So my question now is. How can a person know if  he or she is still gambling for entertainment or if addiction has Started taking control over them.

Yes, we all gamble for entertainment, but that entertainment eventually turns into an addiction because when we spend too much time gambling, it becomes a habit and that habit gradually turns into an addiction. In the beginning, none of us understand it because gambling feels good. Then when it becomes an addiction, gambling feels even better, which is why we never think that we are addicted. Those who are addicted to gambling never think that they are addicted. Everything seems normal.

I first gambled for the testing purpose of how gambling actually works, but from that testing purpose, gambling turned into joy and from there, gambling became my addiction and I lost a lot of money in gambling. I have already shared my bad experiences in gambling on this forum and how much I was harmed. So everyone should be careful from the beginning and remember that not all pleasures are good for us, so we have to control ourselves.

[Itz-prisigold]

One of the most common factor to know if you are already addicted or not is by trying to stop gambling for the meantime. If you're just playing for entertainment, then a few breaks shouldn't be too much right?  However, if each time you make an attempt to end gambling you experience some restlessness, or you find yourself consistently going over your limit,  or even if you find yourself constantly thinking about gambling, then you should realize that you are already addicted as these are all signs that gambling can be more than just fun.

Typically, these changes occur over time and you may not realize that you are becoming addicted.  That is the reason why it's very significant to be honest with oneself about one's habits at all times.

[acroman08]

How can a person know if  he or she is still gambling for entertainment or if addiction has Started taking control over them.

One thing I've done before to see if I am developing a gambling addiction is to test myself. I mean, what I did was list the gambling habits I've noticed that I do and then compare those habits to the known gambling addiction signs/symptoms that you can find online. It is an easy test to do, so everyone can do it. I don't know if this test is effective, but I feel like it is still a good way to know whether you are developing a gambling addiction or not.

[Odusko]

When a gambler sees gambling as way to make quick money at that point you are no longer gambling for the fun but gambling for the money and when you ant winning as expected, you definitely chase the loses which ultimately lands you into addiction which is the worst stage any gambler could get to.

[Egii Nna]

So my question now is. How can a person know if  he or she is still gambling for entertainment or if addiction has Started taking control over them.

Gambling even if you don't have much, trying to get profit, is a very simple and straightforward answer. You can start gambling for fun or for gain when you need extra cash, but it should be limited, you have to know when to stop.

When you start feeling like doing it "one last time" to get all your losses back, that is when you can start getting addicted. At first, you won't know it until your addiction has reached a severe level. That is when you will know, and stopping will be a very big job to do.

[sunsilk]

So my question now is. How can a person know if  he or she is still gambling for entertainment or if addiction has Started taking control over them.

It's when they're becoming emotional IMHO. When they just can't let the day turn into a losing day.

What they want to do is to recover at that very day when they've lost their bets. So, that's a sign for me that they're turning gambling more than an entertainment.

Because it's already affecting them emotionally which shouldn't be. But the justification is there and they'll only say that it's a normal reaction to do.

[Supreme Donvic]

So my question now is. How can a person know if  he or she is still gambling for entertainment or if addiction has Started taking control over them.

When you start giving more time to gambling than other important things in your life, for example you no longer have time for your family you no longer have time for your friends all you do is to gamble, just know that you have already become addicted to gambling and again when you start borrowing money just to gamble you should know that you are already addicted to gambling.
Gambling addiction is very easy to prevent all you need to do is to always have a limit and to also bear it in the back of your mind that gambling can never make you Rich when you have a limit in gambling and you know you cannot become rich through gambling you will be sure of not getting addicted to gambling.

[terrific]

The truth is that addiction does not just happen overnight. It’s start little by little until  it starts affecting your finance, relationships, and peace of mind. So my question now is. How can a person know if  he or she is still gambling for entertainment or if addiction has Started taking control over them.

You said that it happens a little by little and that little won't be noticed by an addicted gambler.
They will be in denial stage for so long until their finances are already affected by it.
So, they're being taken over with the control on how they see gambling with. All the things they'll say is that it's only good and not bad.
It should be balanced, there's pros and cons and we have to acknowledge both of it.
And I think a person will not know that they're already on that stage even if other people tells them that they are.

[coin-investor]

How can a person know if  he or she is still gambling for entertainment or if addiction has Started taking control over them.

It's hard for the gambler to admit it; they always deny that they are becoming addicted to gambling. They can lie, but people will notice, especially those close to these gamblers.
People notice that they spend more time in casinos, lose interest in their business, or are constantly absent from work; their lives revolve around casinos.
 

[Crypto_Timothy]

Yea, gambling usually starts as fun and it can remain fun for real though but because of our human nature we eventually add emotions to it and then you start having addiction in the conversation. Funny enough you cannot predict when your emotions will get the better of you so you cannot actually prepare for when the addiction starts but if you can notice it early and be self aware enough to seek help then there is a good chance the addiction wont destroy you.

[Findingnemo]

How can a person know if  he or she is still gambling for entertainment or if addiction has Started taking control over them.

It's hard for the gambler to admit it; they always deny that they are becoming addicted to gambling. They can lie, but people will notice, especially those close to these gamblers.
People notice that they spend more time in casinos, lose interest in their business, or are constantly absent from work; their lives revolve around casinos.
 

Well, this is the internet era and life becomes so private that even your partner may not notice certain things, so we all on our own and having strict self-discipline is important in our life to avoid any pitfalls. Denial is a sign of addiction but we can't really say that unless a qualified medical practitioner assesses it.

But I am sure we all will notice the change happening to us, that is the critical point that we have to decide whether we are going to continue ot put an end to it.

[bhadz]

In my local culture, we used to say "just one more try and maybe luck is going to be there" and I am sure that this also applies in other country. This gives the person an idea that they're already going into gambling beyond entertainment. That's no longer about entertainment only but also in a way that they're going to want more of what they can get in gambling. Who knows if they've been suffering in losses and that's the only way they can think of how they can recover most of their losses. Admitting is also going to be a difficult for them to say.

[leonair]

In my local culture, we used to say "just one more try and maybe luck is going to be there" and I am sure that this also applies in other country. This gives the person an idea that they're already going into gambling beyond entertainment. That's no longer about entertainment only but also in a way that they're going to want more of what they can get in gambling. Who knows if they've been suffering in losses and that's the only way they can think of how they can recover most of their losses. Admitting is also going to be a difficult for them to say.

After losing, running after recovering that loss is one of the reasons for being addicted to gambling. When someone loses, they run after recovering that loss, and if they can recover the loss, they think they are very lucky and gamble again. When they lose again while trying to recover the loss, they gamble more to recover that loss. In this way, gambling becomes an addiction by playing repeat gambling. It is true that gambling for entertainment is completely false. One of the objectives of all gamblers is to win and to withdraw the money they have deposited there several times after winning. And this objective is actually only an objective at the maximum time and is not fulfilled. Only losing and trying to recover that loss again, this is how most gamblers continue their gambling activities.

[promise444c5]

So my question now is. How can a person know if  he or she is still gambling for entertainment or if addiction has Started taking control over them.

It’s not so hard to detect and shouldn’t be…

Why? Gamblers are usually aware of their wrong steps even before taking them, tbh ye just don’t care and conclude on taking it anyway.. yeah, the famous “fck it “ word.  So it not so hard to identify the right from wrong, addiction can just be something you know you shouldn’t do or do beyond a certain level and yet you always fail to resis it.