You can only help someone who wants to be helped, and is willing to put in the time and effort to turn their life around.
This is a major factor in addictions treatment, and it is the reason why most addicts do not look to change until they have hit rock bottom. In my opinion the way to attack the problem is to have mental health counselling available to those who have hit rock bottom, and to advertise the dangers to those who haven’t started. Someone who is in the midst of a gambling addiction will probably not notice, not care, or not believe that they are on a path to destruction.
If the casinos really cared, they would be putting money into treatments for people who are at their very lowest, their customers who could not control themselves and gamble responsibly.
The debate should be where do we allocate current and future resources so that they do the most good, and prevention and treatment are definitely the best options in my opinion. A population that can think for itself will never stop gambling, drinking, or doing drugs, so how do we help those whose brain chemistry causes them to fall into the vortex of addiction.
