The goal in gambling can be different. Someone plays gambling for the sake of winning, someone to pass their free time, someone just enjoys the process of playing. As long as the gambler has such goals gambling can be called a hobby. As soon as a gambler sets a goal to win back the lost money, then gambling is no longer a hobby because it is already an addiction. Get rid of the addiction can be, but not the fact that gambling can again become a hobby, because the restrictions in gambling very much reduce not only the risks, but also positive emotions.
This is true, and it must be said that most gamblers fall into the mental trap of "needing to win back and get their money back". But in reality, gambling is not an activity where if a casino has received someone's money, it will not rush to return it as winnings for the player. And it turns out that gamblers who try to win back their money are only "digging a hole for themselves - deeper and deeper". And the sooner such a gambler admits that the only way to get money back is through honest work and not gambling, the better for him.