These stuck out to me, because I see these ugly traits daily in my job with substance abusers--and gambling can go hand in hand with that, though not a lot of the people I see are problem gamblers.  But I think the basic disorder is much the same and produces a lot of the same effects.  When you've got an addiction, your brain adapts and does everything it can to protect the addiction, and part of that is isolating emotionally from people who are going to try to *force* you to get help.  That's usually your loved ones.  So problem gamblers have to do a lot of lying, manipulating, cheating, stealing, and everything else that substance abusers do.  Plus for whatever reason they feel like they're gods in their own heads.

Decent thread, OP.  There are probably at least 200 people who are already members here who should read this.  But just like with the alcoholic, it likely won't help anyway.   When you've had enough, you (and only you) have had enough.  There aren't enough words or love in the world that'll be enough to get you to stop until you're ready.

I would argue that gambling is fun at first, and it can give you "quick income" but that it morphs into something else entirely after you cross the line into problem gambling.  Even drugs and alcohol start off fun.  If they weren't, there wouldn't be problems with addiction.