This is a pretty important fact that is overlooked too often in my opinion. Gambling addiction as with any other addiction is a very serious illness that will no go away on it's own and needs to be treated. Someone who gambles regularly doesn't have to be a gambling addict. In my opinion it's not the number of hours you gamble each week that determines if you are an addict, but rather how you live your life with it. For example, a poker professional who plays 8 hours per day online poker 5-6 days per week would be considered by some people as a gambling addict by the time he spends in online casinos. But what if he is very disciplined and makes a lot of money through poker, it's his full time job and people shouldn't think of him as an addict. And there is the exact opposite someone who maybe only gambles 1-2 hours per week, but keeps thinking about casinos and making bets all day. It really comes down to how gambling affects your brain. The best check is to see if we are fine to stay away from casinos and don't think about gambling at all.