It's what gamblers do. When they have money at hand they think of betting it to make more. When they're broke they think of getting the money. He was saving up but the addiction can be suppressed only for so long. Now his brain will switch back into the earning mode for a month or two and then the time of weakness will come again. It's a circle of life for some people.
There's an easy way to trick your addiction into thinking that you're feeding it. Bet a lot, gamble every day, just always do it with minimum bets. If you'll lose it's going to be very little, but you'll spend a lot of time doing it, being in the zone, or you can just go to a rehab and get it under control.