Any hobby is an addiction (otherwise why would a person voluntarily engage in it?) and can become a severe form of addiction that will negatively affect a person. For example, computer games and collecting in them. I work in this field and I see with my own eyes how people pay a lot of money to own virtual items. And to be honest, this even affects me - I’m starting to value some virtual things more than money. So you need to understand that any activity can be dangerous if it turns into a severe form of addiction, and gambling is not much different from other activities.
I disagree with you.
A hobby can be healthy if practiced moderately so that it does not negatively affect the life of the person and others around them.
Only when it starts to cause some harm can it be called an addiction.
There are addictions that can initially be interpreted as positive, as I like to mention physical exercise as an example... when it goes beyond the balance of what is healthy and starts to significantly interfere in the life of this person, that is, the activity becomes a priority and can cause physical harm such as injuries and social and professional withdrawal, then it becomes an addiction.
However, the habit of going to the movies every weekend, going to the bar occasionally to have a drink with friends, watching a football game, gambling regularly in a conscious way... If you have plenty of time for this, it does not compromise your financial income and it does not cause any personal, family or social problems with friends. What's wrong with that?
I agree with what you say, after all, a hobby is something that is done for pleasure with the aim of pampering or pleasing yourself, of course not to get yourself into trouble, especially with hobbies that lead to sports activities, it is very unlikely that this will happen. Bad things happen, as long as the activity you do doesn't harm yourself or other people, it's safe, unless, as you say, it can cause harm then it can be said to be an addiction. but my question is, is this addiction the same thing as overdoing it, or will something done excessively become an addiction?
balancing everything is important, things that are done excessively may become an addiction that can lead to losses, by balancing everything it will be fine, but in my opinion making gambling a hobby is not a good thing even if someone has a lot of money. to make gambling a hobby even though they have self-control and set limits, but occasionally they may lose self-control which results in loss of self-control and creates other chaos. If you really have a lot of money then there are still many things that can be used as a hobby other than gambling, although I occasionally see rich people who like to gamble because they have a lot of money, but I don't think about making gambling a hobby even though I have a lot of money.