I am the exact opposite to you, if someone I don't really know calls me a gambling addict I wouldn't care about it. Why should I care what a stranger thinks of me? If I would be concerned what other people that I have no connection with think of me, than I would be worrying about it all day. But if my family or my close friends would call me a gambling addict it would make me think. First of all it would irritate me and I would need to find out if he only said it as a joke, in anger or if he really means that. The thing with family and friends is that they know us pretty well and have a good view on our life. So in case a good friend is concerned that I gamble too much and has the believe that I am an addict that I would talk with him as open as possible and try to convince him otherwise or hear what else he has to say.
It's better to have an open ears and mind when discussing this concern with your love ones, they have reasons why they will call you as it is and if you are not a close-minded person, you'll be able to re-assess yourself, though most of the people who already falling into addiction are in to a denial stage,
they are not willing to admit but if you have that good conciousness in yourself and you also considering the surrounding people, you'll be able to weight things out and decide if you needed to adjust or you still have the explanation why you involve yourself into gambling.