Many people find it difficult to accept who they are and the bad habits that they have, accepting a habit is the first step that will determine if any help offered to you will work. As a gambler, will you find it offensive if you are referred to as a gambling addict? will you easily accept it or try to give excuses like some other people do, saying that they are not addicted to gambling when the signs are clearly there. Do you think identifying as an addicted gambler will make people stereotype you. The answer is different for every gambler here.
I think I would be very insulted if somebody called me any kind of addict, regardless of whether its a gambling addict, drug addict, alcohol or smoking addict. It is understood as an insult to those who are not addicts. Now, if somebody would tell me that I am expressing symptoms of addiction , then that is not something I would get mad at. I would question the person and make a judgement of myself, should the facts all check out.
It is imperative that one understands why one is being associated as an addict. But telling someone to their face or worse, to someone else, that one is an addict, as if it were diagnosed fact, can be wrong and very harming to one's reputation.
That's a good opinion mate, calling you directly that you are already an addict to whatever types of addiction is really something that can be taken as an insult. But if someone gives you an opinion or an observation that you are taking so deep and your engagement is no longer normal, that's something you need to take and think about. I agree when you are still unsure or you still don't accept that your engagement is already far from the usual.
Chosen words is also important when you are giving some opinion about a person who are already having difficulty in controlling their gambling participation, if they are still open for any criticism they can re-assess and change their ways, but if they are already addicted, that's something that really hard to take.