A good friend of mine likes to bet on sports and I think it is a problem for him. In our early 20s, a lot of "the guys" would hang out on Sundays, primarily during college and a few years after and bet a little on NFL games (spare me the lecture MMM board), but low stakes $20-$100 maybe overall, nothing serious and then maybe on the SuperBowl.
Fast forward to today, pretty sure nobody bets on anything besides maybe the SuperBowl besides this friend. We used to live together and I knew he bet on sports then, but it still seemed like minimal amounts of money. Over the last 6+ months, he has mentioned the games he has bet on and the amount bet which has increased quite a bit. A few months back, he was using my computer and when I came back later once everyone had left, he hadn't closed the website for the site he makes his bets through, it was on the "Transactions" page which showed all of his results, basically an Excel spreadsheet layout of all the bets, if they were Wins or Losses and those amounts ...I didn't mean to even stumble upon this, but I can tell there is a major problem here, and while it's not my business, I can see where this is heading...the results page was full of losses, which wouldn't be as bad, but many of the losses were all parlay bets (long shot "sucker" bets, common in gamblers that chase their losses). It was filtered to show results on a monthly basis and I could see these losses were just at what his monthly income is (I've never asked him this, but he asks me about his career, negotiation salary, etc. so I know these numbers from discussions with him).
On one hand, I can see the perspective that this is not my business and I should just let it go. On the other hand, this is a good friend of mine and I can tell he is going down a very dangerous path, especially as he tells me he is likely planning to get engaged soon (I'm certain his SO has no clue as she thinks he is saving for their future (ring, house, etc.)) and he isn't a rich person, so clearly these losses are not trivial and the increasing amounts and style of bets show signs of someone addicted. Part of me thinks he might be upset with me if I tell him I saw what I say, but at the same time, if that's what it takes to get him off this dangerous path, it might be worthwhile in the long run, that said, it might change absolutely nothing.
I feel like I'm in a bad spot either way, if I don't say anything, I know he will continue burning all of his cash and every day is digging his financial ditch (which I assume his SO will find out eventually as they live together) and I would feel bad not ever trying to help, whatever that means. Anyone ever been in a situation like this?