Many gamblers who suffer from gambling addiction try to think that way, that they are paying the casio. to use their games and to have some fun. However I have seen a colleague of mine who tried to quit gambling by playing free simulators in the internet , Gaminators and Hot fruits simulators and told me , this is it, now I can quit gambling easily.
The reality though was that after playing with simulators for one week he then got to the casino and lost a big amount.The only true way to quit is to ask professional help.
For some people, this may work. It depends on how do you see the casino you are playing. If you are more focused on the profits that you gain (even if these profits are fake) then you have a problem, like your friend. If you are focused on the procedure and not in the amount that you want to accumulate then you can find a way of not losing your money. I think this solution doesn't have application to all gamblers.
We have heard that at the end, the bad result mostly will come to gamblers addict. Based on that, if we focus on the profit we want to achieve in gambling then we can end up like most gamblers have. We should be wise if we want to enjoy gambling as long as possible. Paying small money won't hurt us to enjoy gambling game services. So, comparing gambling with watching movies on cinema sounds realistic for me. Treat gambling as a way to have fun only and never try to solve our financial problems or to get rich from gambling.