~snip~
I think you are absolutely correct in pointing out that such a person will, in the vast majority of cases, not tell anyone about their gambling addiction.
And this is where the main problem of such players lies. A person cannot say this because other people will naturally reproach, scold and even insult him and say that he is so weak-willed that he cannot stop playing. This psychological brake in the behavior of a gambler over time constantly only makes it worse and worse, and painful gambling only gets worse. For this reason, the sooner he turns to specialists, the easier it will be for him to overcome such addiction to gambling. And the easier and simpler will be the life of his entire family if the family does not have the problem of constant daily struggle with the gambling addiction of one of the family members.
I still think that without the help of specialists in these matters, if not impossible, then certainly it is very difficult to cope.
In this case, openness is needed from the gambling addict to make people around him understand that he needs help. And with his family's help, the problem of gambling addiction can be solved properly, and gamblers who are addicted to gambling can also manage their lives freely without thinking about gambling. Seeing a specialist can help a gambling addict overcome his addiction and make a new person who has successfully quit gambling. And when he is successful, he can share his story of getting out of gambling with people who are also addicted to gambling so that this can make their spirits rise and have the desire to get well too.
As far as I know there are very few people who become addicted to gambling and share it with their family or others. What we typically see is that no gambler shares their addiction. They try to keep it secret as much as they can. A gambler will surely get a good solution when he shares this matter. Hiding only increases the problem so it is very important to share with others as much as possible. In some cases, it takes a long time for gamblers to identify the problem, so it is not possible to bring them back in time.
As much as i agree with you that it is very important for us to discuss our pressing issues with people for a possible solution, it is also important that to know or note that not every one is qualified to know about our problems, there are people you tell your problem, and instead of consoling you and helping you look or seek for solution, they will use that problem as a way to get at you or means to mock you at any slightest provocation or misunderstanding, such type of people does not deserve to know anything about our problem because instead them being the source of solution, they will rather be source of more problem for us.
So someone who is addicted to gambling and is serious about finding a solution should be careful who he or she opens up to, whether they be relatives or friends does not matter, because sometimes, even strangers are better in character/behavior than our own family.