Gambling disorder can be a difficult addiction to diagnose. In general, psychologists employ a list of questions that allow us to better understand whether a person suffers from this disorder. In order to be considered a disorder, the gambler needs to have suffered from four of these characteristics in the last year. The questions are:
- Does he need to gamble with increasing amounts of money to achieve excitement?
- Is he irritable or restless when not gambling?
- Has he unsuccessfully tried to quit or cut back?
- Is he often thinking about gambling?
- Does he gamble when feeling distressed?
- Does he return to gambling after losing to "get even"?
- Does he lie to conceal his gambling?
- Has he jeopardize significant elements of his life because of gambling?
- Does he rely on other people's money to gamble?
In this case, it appears the friend does not qualify for gambling disorder, as he does not fulfill enough categories.