We All Start 'Just for Entertainment',,, But When Does It Become a Problem?

[Texac]

Many people call gambling just a hobby. We say, "I just play for fun", "Nothing more than entertainment." Tbh, most people probably start like this.

But question is, "It's just a hobby",,, until when?

When is it no longer a hobby?

• When you go beyond your budget?
• When you no longer feel excitement when you don't bet on a match or game?
• When you start hiding your losses from family or friend?
• Or when you keep looking for an excuse to make ''another bet'' to recover money you lost?

My question is not ''Am I addicted?''

My question is, do we understand at what point we cross the line between hobby and addiction?

[Grace333]

For most people it's a hubby until they gamble with something that's not ment to used for gamble, I've been in that position before so I know how it feel to loss something to gamble and then you start feeling the urge to chase loses that's where it all becomes worse.  Well I'm happy I left that race along time ago because I understand how gambling works.
One thing I'm sure of is that after anyone defeats that urge of gambling irresponsibly, they can manage other part of their lives without being greedy or jumping into offers that are too good to be true (if they truly understand)

[Charles-Tim]

If you go beyond budget, that means it is no longer a hobby. If it is repeating, going beyond budget, that might be leading to gambling addiction which should be avoided.

There are times I will not feel excited to gamble. I will not gamble and that is not a problem for me.

I do not hide my gambling activities from my family. That is because I do it responsibly.

It is very bad for a gambler to be trying to recover losses, that is the time such gambler will lose all the money in his account and wallet.

[Alpha Marine]

In my opinion, It's when you can no longer control yourself. When you start feeling like you won't be fine if you don't gamble. There is this insatiable urge you feel towards gambling. No matter how much you win or lose, you would never be satisfied. That is when it becomes an addiction. When you get to a point where you can no longer stop or stay within your limit.

It would help a lot if we could notice these signs before they become extreme. Noticing the signs on time and taking a break might help. Some people feel like, because they have been gambling for a long time and have never gotten addicted, they feel they can't get addicted, but that is not true.

And no, you don't cross the line at "one point". You cross the line gradually. You don't just become addicted overnight. It happens over a period of time. Over a period of many bets and bad decisions.

[BALIK]

For me, it's pretty simple. I have a fixed budget. I never go beyond it. My weekly limit is no more than $100. But most time it's around $50. Once that money is gone, I don't touch my card or deposit any more.

If it's online casino, I also try to stay away from it once I've hit my limit. Sometime I even uninstall the app for a while so I am not tempted to play again.

I set my budget based on monthly income. If I lose that amount it won't affect my finances or daily life. If win I treat it as bonus rather than expected income. Usually, I love to spend it on something I enjoy, like buying new electronic gadget.  

[Zlantann]

My question is not ''Am I addicted?''

My question is, do we understand at what point we cross the line between hobby and addiction?

Addiction starts when you begin to spend more resources than you can afford on an activity. The resources could be time, money, thoughts, and others. Furthermore, you have crossed the line when you can no longer control your desire or drive to gamble.

Hiding your losses from relatives and friends, chasing losses, and making excuses for your wastefulness are all products or offshoots of a lack of self-control and mismanagement of resources.

The truth is that you can see gambling as a means of making money and still not be addicted because you have self-control. But seeing gambling as entertainment is essential because those who focus on money-making in gambling can easily cross the line.

[Cgrexp]

For most people it's a hubby until they gamble with something that's not ment to used for gamble, I've been in that position before so I know how it feel to loss something to gamble and then you start feeling the urge to chase loses that's where it all becomes worse.  Well I'm happy I left that race along time ago because I understand how gambling works.
One thing I'm sure of is that after anyone defeats that urge of gambling irresponsibly, they can manage other part of their lives without being greedy or jumping into offers that are too good to be true (if they truly understand)

You have a very good point because everyone changes their decision based on their mindset. And behind every decision is the mindset about that action. If I have a caution in me about gambling that I can be harmed from here and I do not want to lose my necessary money and I am careful then I will make decisions in that way. With this mentality, caution will work more than greed in me and I will not decide to play with my necessary money. However, if I have a greedy mentality, I will think that the more money I bet, the more I can make more profit if  I can win. And just thinking about the expectation of profit, I may bet beyond my means. The impact of the two mindsets on my decision-making will be  different. So there is an influence of mindset in decision-making.

[DanWalker]

• When you no longer feel excitement when you don't bet on a match or game?

You're right about the boredom of not betting. you know, that part really stood out to me.

Last world cup, I was sitting at family dinner & watching the odds. I wasn't even placing any bet. I was just refreshing odds and wondering if I might miss something. At that time my wife said its dinner time & it wasn't just a harmless hobby anymore.

In fact, most people who are developing gambling addiction don't even realize it themselve. They often deny it or convince themselve that everything is still under control.

That's why self awareness is so important. Taking regular break from time to time and sticking to a predetermined budget is a good way to go.

[KiaKia]

Anything can become addiction if you spent too much of your time on them, to stay in total control range you need to limit the time spent on every single thing that keeps you busy on your free time.

Gambling is even more mean if you allow it, because the possibility of making money is involved here, so it's possible to loose your track easily if care isn't taken.

I get into gambling for entertainment purposes and I know the risks involved, if gamblers can know and understand the risks involved in gambling they will be more careful.

Risk small money so that you won't end up chasing losses.
Gamble within a time frame so that you won't get emotion.

[Agbamoni]

Gambling is no longer a hobby when we are no longer comfortable with losing. Before, losing in gambling was a normal occurrence, where those claiming it was a hobby would laugh over a small or big loss. If it gets to a level where they feel emotional for losing, it is no longer a hobby.

When we can't talk about our gambling activities and history around friends and family members, it is no longer a hobby. Surely, the discipline is no longer there. Meaning the gambler can't boast of how he controls his bankroll, how often he gambles, or what percentage is spent on gambling every day.

[JoyceBTC]

They don’t set limits that why, so they get carried away along the line. Most gamblers actually gamble with what they can’t afford to loose, when they loose, they start chasing their losses and get trapped, so it becomes hard to stop. While some persons get trapped in addiction because of greed, within them, they actually believe it a better way of making money rather than just an entertainment.

[Dunamisx]

My question is, do we understand at what point we cross the line between hobby and addiction?

For sure it is our hobby that turned addiction when we are unable to apply discipline on it, it happens in so many cases like this that you discover a gambler is winning more frequently and before you know it, he got used to it with the expectation of having to win by all means whenever he attempted to play, but when this is not coming as he expected, begin to chase after the losses in order to recover and win before, this behavior could gradually lead to addiction if care is not taken, except realizes why camping should be seen as an entertainment and not the chase after his pleasure for winning.

[ASloveapg]

Actually gambling is for entertainment, but the real difference between them is through control. As long as you keep yourself in control and follow the limits of gambling, it is safe and it is for entertainment.
Gambling moves away from the purpose of entertainment only when you want to make money through gambling, cannot accept losses, gamble with excess money beyond your means in the hope of winning big, I think when these are manifested in behavior, then it is addictive gambling.
Actually gambling starts for entertainment, but through greed and the hope of covering losses, it moves away from entertainment and becomes a means of making money. In fact, in the case of those who lack self-control, this happens very quickly and unconsciously.

[Bright0515]

Gambling can start out as a hobby and after a while it turns out to become an addiction when it is done without moderation. Even though you decide to use gambling as a means of entertainment you must also remember to set a time limit and also budget as well so you wouldn't end up getting trapped in the game, it mostly starts from not having a time limit. The problem starts most times when we spend more time than we should. Some spend hours gambling and claim not to be addicted but this is just them being in denial.

[Findingnemo]

Many people call gambling just a hobby. We say, "I just play for fun", "Nothing more than entertainment." Tbh, most people probably start like this.

But question is, "It's just a hobby",,, until when?

When is it no longer a hobby?

• When you go beyond your budget?
• When you no longer feel excitement when you don't bet on a match or game?
• When you start hiding your losses from family or friend?
• Or when you keep looking for an excuse to make ''another bet'' to recover money you lost?

My question is not ''Am I addicted?''

My question is, do we understand at what point we cross the line between hobby and addiction?

One being not addicted and still can go beyond their limits that they intended but it is fine when it happens once in a while. The line between hobby and addiction is when they are not focused on their daily activities and keep having thoughts about gambling and the easy money that is how it turns into addiction from the entertainment.

When you face loss that is unexpected still you can just accept and move on, that is the best thing one can do if they never want to become an addict.

[Yorubek]

Most gamblers start gambling with the main purpose of entertainment, but gradually when they start winning big money or face losses, it becomes very difficult for the gambler to control that greed, and when the gambler starts gambling due to emotions, it is no longer for entertainment, then only to make a quick money or recover the money lost through gambling becomes the main purpose. And when the gambler starts to see gambling as a part of life, as a result, gambling becomes a big threat in his life, and then gambling is no longer limited to entertainment.

[Iranus]

But question is, "It's just a hobby",,, until when?
When is it no longer a hobby?

• When you go beyond your budget?
• When you no longer feel excitement when you don't bet on a match or game?
• When you start hiding your losses from family or friend?
• Or when you keep looking for an excuse to make ''another bet'' to recover money you lost?

Idk man, I think you're overthinking it a bit. To me, gambling is a hobby & entertainment, as long as it doesn't damage your financial life or personal life. People spend $100 a night on restaurant, concert or drink and no one ask if that's a problem.

My rule is very simple, I will play with an amount that even if I lose, I won't have to check my balance again and again. Everyone should know their own limit. We will spend within our income, I don't see a problem with that. But spending more than our income, taking on debt, missing bills or neglecting basic responsibilities, that's where danger zone begin.

[The Founding Titan]

Many people call gambling just a hobby. We say, "I just play for fun", "Nothing more than entertainment." Tbh, most people probably start like this.

But question is, "It's just a hobby",,, until when?

When is it no longer a hobby?

• When you go beyond your budget?
• When you no longer feel excitement when you don't bet on a match or game?
• When you start hiding your losses from family or friend?
• Or when you keep looking for an excuse to make ''another bet'' to recover money you lost?

My question is not ''Am I addicted?''

My question is, do we understand at what point we cross the line between hobby and addiction?

The first one works, the second one doesn't make much sense to me, even addicts find fun in other things, infact most addicts don't necessarily enjoy the game they just desperately want to win as much as possible as quickly as possible snd there's barely any fun in that, and for the third one, a person can decide to not share their gambling life with their friends and family and still not be addicted to gambling, that one is more of a choice and the fourth one definitely points to addiction, looking more excuse to gamble is exactly what an addict would do.

[Queen uloma]

Gambling stopped being a hobby to me the moment it begins to control my decisions instead of me controlling it. If you can stop at anytime without feeling restless and you are gambling only with money you set aside for fun, it can still be seen as hobby. But once you start to gamble more than your budget, chase after losses because you want to recover your losses, always borrowing money or use money meant for bills to gamble Then it’s more than hobby but addiction, whether you call it addiction or not, The biggest sign to me isn’t  how much a person lose but how gambling has become something that someone can’t control anymore.

 Once you can’t discipline your self or take a break, that’s where the problem start from. Everyone can enjoy gambling as entertainment but it’s good for everyone to examine themselves, as soon as gambling starts affecting your peace of mind, finances, responsibilities or relationships, it means that, it’s no longer a hobby.

[Dogedegen]

For this kind of thread you are going to get very bad answers here. There have been different topics related to addiction here, and in most of them what people reply has nothing to do with science or reality of addiction. They are providing their own subjective opinions on what is and isn't an addiction and how it should be, all of which are usually wrong. The science has answers to this, but the details of the answer are very difficult because the question posed is difficult in the way that it is asked for this subject.

When is it no longer a hobby?

• When you go beyond your budget?
• When you no longer feel excitement when you don't bet on a match or game?
• When you start hiding your losses from family or friend?
• Or when you keep looking for an excuse to make ''another bet'' to recover money you lost?

My question is not ''Am I addicted?''

My question is, do we understand at what point we cross the line between hobby and addiction?

Usually when you ask a question like this, the person expects an answer that is clear and quantified. Like if you have numbers 1 to 10, you can ask starting with which number are the numbers bigger than 5? That is easy, the line is the 5th number and once you cross it then begin the numbers that are bigger than 6. This works when you can objectively quantify something, but it does not work to ask this kind of question expecting a precise answer when the topic is not quantifiable. We can't quantify an addiction like this,  so you can not ask for a specific line that makes one cross from hobby to addiction.

What you can at best is to look at the whole picture, and then analyze the complexity of behaviors. We can discuss the details like the ones that you have proposed, like going beyond your budget but individually they are symptoms and not necessary to be an addiction. I will give you a counter example. Let's say that I do some gambling, 1 hour per week but not each week only how I feel like it. For some reasons of happiness, sadness, boredom or something else one day I go over my budget 5x. I don't repeat this again. That is clearly not an addiction! So you see, we can easily demonstrate that individual things don't work. If you want an answer that describes everything without going into each detail, then it is about the choice to gamble. People develop the feeling that they need to gamble, so they feel like they need to wind down after work or some other activities that they believe are hard and they do it with this. That is not free choice, that is not somebody choosing to do some activity sometimes because they want to this time. That is a person that is being pushed into the activity, and it is already an addiction even if it is a mild one. Symptoms will vary depending on the addiction and the case.