OP, I think the addiction thing begins with the "chasing stage" rather than the "losing stage". The "winning stage " is well out of it to the best of my perspicacity, anyway. If a gambler loses and doesn't have the mind for further losses, they will give up and that ends the chase. Those who don't like taking losses because it reminds them of failure are the ones who go on chasing their losses in order to take a revenge and by do doing most of them get hooked on it. That's how addiction sets in. They want their own pound of flesh, forgetting that no gambler has a winning edge on betting houses.