They will do anything to achieve their goals just like a drug addict would.I think that some years in jail would be the right punishment for such persons and also there to be treated for their illness.
Drug addict doesn't have a goal. They just want to destroy their lives because they want to. That's their own will and once they started, they don't know how to stop. It's the same in gambling, once you started to lose a lot of money, the determined you want to recover it all. That's when greed will allow you to waste all your money in betting.
To avoid those addictions, at first you should know the possibilities of betting before doing it. Do some research about the advantages and disadvantages of gambling. Also learn how to control emotions in urge of winning more money or recovering all your losses. Learn how to save yourself from greed. If you learned all of that before betting, now you'll prevent loss and addictions
I disagree. People just don't take drugs or alcohol to destroy their lives. Many of them are just into depression, after all, in all truth, life actually sucks. It's not a bed of roses for many. Drugs or such are a way to physically suppress the mental agony, not that I'm recommending it.
However, gambling addiction is worse than drug addiction. Drug addiction atleast has a benefit that it reduces depression, but gambling takes away from you, your health, your money, brings depression.