Gambling addicts may face a range of consequences in their personal and professional lives if they fail to check themselves into a rehab facility to deal with their problem. Addicts often lose their entire life savings and may encounter seemingly insurmountable obstacles in their lives.

For example, a South Australian coroner recently blamed a 2006 suicide by a local mother of two on her addiction to poker machines, according to ABC News.

Katherine Natt racked up a total of $100,000 in debt due to her gambling problem and worried that custody of her two young children would be taken away from her. She wrote in a suicide note that this was the main reason she took her own life. She was found dead after overdosing on prescription painkillers.

The news source reports that federal authorities are currently considering tougher restrictions on casinos and other forms of gambling to help avoid similar problems in the future.

While suicide may seem like an extreme reaction to a gambling addiction, the National Council on Problem Gambling says that the condition can progress similarly to any other addiction, eventually taking over a person's life. Therefore, the group recommends that individuals who think they may have problems seek addiction treatment.