Indeed, it may be too late to cry (over spilt milk). But it was a conscious choice in the sense no one had been forcing him to gamble in the first place, well, at least, not directly. As the saying goes, prevention is better than cure, so understanding how addiction works and what consequences a certain form of it causes leaves enough room for maneuver in framing one's passions and obsessions
First, everyone should understand that being addicted is in fact normal as this is just how life goes in general. I could even say that not being addicted to something is a pathology rather than the norm. Second, and to repeat, it is the consequences, not the addiction itself that counts. But being fully aware of that allows one to control the whole gamut of his addictions, and how far they can go
The lesson to take home is that choose your addictions wisely