I'm not sure people want to come to a clinic just to treat their gambling addiction. If gambling is one of the things that makes him happy, then he will do it continuously. Until the point where he runs out of money to play, he will stop.
I have quite a lot of friends who used to like gambling and could be said to be addicts. Now the majority of them have also stopped themselves because the main reason is that they have run out of money to play. But when they get a salary from their work, it will be used to gamble again until it runs out & stops.
Maybe this kind of addiction is still normal, he continues to gamble and stops when his money runs out. However, there are also those who have extreme addictions, gambling until they run out of money, but when the money runs out they continue to try to get the money by any means to gamble, such as selling valuables, robbing and even killing. So addiction should not be taken lightly, just have fun and when the money runs out then stop. The reality on the ground is that many people who are addicted to gambling act carelessly or even uncontrollably, as in the example above.
So addiction needs treatment, of course there are various types of treatment. However, many have managed to escape addiction thanks to the support of family and those closest to them. where I live there is no special doctor for addicts, so doctors are not the solution.
the will to change should start from the gambler himself. because actions from his family or close friends will only be futile if the gambler himself doesn't want to change. if the gambler accepted the reality that he is already in the addiction state, then, that's the first step of this process. identifying that he has problem is a big step to alter his lifestyle. that's when he can truly ask for help from the people around him or from professionals addressing this kind of addiction.
Imagine that there is such a rehabilitation clinic for people who are addicted to gambling.
Because of how addiction has risen a lot in other form of habits and gambling, Rehabilitation centers has been one investment that there has been a large call for its establishment in my country Nigeria.
Rehabiltation centers can be of really great help because many professional will be the staffs, and their experience in helping people will increase with the more patients that they have. Addictive gambling is a mental thing, so medications may not be needed expect in severe cases.
i guess, one problem here is that if the gambler has no funds to enter into such institution. he will think twice of going in because of financial difficulties. unless, such center is free of charge and just accepts donation. that i think, is not yet common because of course, this will be a business for the owners. lucky if it is run by a charitable organisation. but knowing charity groups, they will dedicate their resources first to orphans, homeless and those who are in need rather than gambling addicts.
