No, they need professional help, if they depend on an external source to control their gambling, whether that help comes in the form of a family member, friend or a self-exclusion system implemented by a casino, sooner or later those systems will fail and then they will gamble once again, what they need to do is to find the inner strength to stop gambling, and most often this means receiving therapy and even medication to control their urges to gamble.
Yes, most likely that will be the case of the majority here, hitting rock bottom before they can realized that gambling is going to ruined their lives. So they better snap back and go back to reality and realized that gambling should not be the one to dictate everything for them. Gamblers can voluntarily give up, called self-exclusion, but it will take a lot from them. But first the OP should acknowledge that he has a gambling disorder, and then seek help from within his family and go to professionals for medical help. It's important to understand that overcoming a gambling problem takes time and commitment to the gamblers.
the first step is indeed to accept the reality about his gambling condition. if he will be in denial to himself, then that's hard to address as he won't really make a step to find the root cause of why he is into this lifestyle. accepting his circumstances will be the first thing to do if he is seriously changing his path for the betterment of himself.
with all the suggestions, opinions and pieces of advice written on this thread, i hope the OP finds time to read and contemplate on what he needs to do whenever he is into the depressed state and thinking of doing something to his life. also, he can look into the following activities to divert his attention from negative thoughts -
> talk to your loved ones, make a conversation with your family
> find another hobby that you think you have passion of
> look for sports that you think you can spend some time with
> camping / hiking / visit a tourist destination near your place / travel / have a road trip
> do some charity works
> declutter things in your room or at home, you may feel refresh if your surroundings is tidy
> meditate / find a yoga class