And since preventing a negative outcome is easier than dealing with its aftermath then we need to make sure to never fall into this pattern of behavior, and quite honestly it is not really that difficult, just set a budget of how much money you are willing to gamble each month and you can also put a daily time limit so you do not spend too much time gambling, if you do this and respect those limits you will find out that you will always be in control and it will be almost impossible to gamble irresponsibly this way.
Quitting can be very difficult for those that had since gambling as a way if survival. There are part of the world that gambling is the only way for people to survive since getting a better job with good pay can be impossible unless one has the connection of the job. For those that attached emotion to gambling, it can be very difficult for them to quit since they might find it impossible or difficult if they make a decision that would crumble there means of survival. Things are really hard these time and with no hope if it getting better, all we have to do is to stick to what works for us until we see a better way for us to escape out of penury.
Without a doubt once a person has developed some sort of dependency on gambling or any other activity then quitting it becomes way more difficult, however it is important that people do so, especially those that may be using gambling in the way that you mention, since if they are in such a difficult economic position to begin with then they have no business gambling at all, due to the fact that gambling requires that we use our spare money to enjoy it, something they do not have.