Lawrence trains his clients to pick games where there aren't continual pop-ups for buyable extras, saying they can trigger the addiction. Still, the freemium model presents a challenge. 'It gives them that little bit of adrenaline rush and helps control their addiction and modify their behavior,' says Lawrence, who spends up to two hours a day on Slotomania himself. Tony Lawrence, a 58-year-old recovering gambling addict, and a counselor at the Aboriginal Gambling Help Service in Adelaide, Australia, says he's used social casino games as a teaching tool for himself and his clients. Though games might feed addiction for some, they can help manage it for others.

'It's about the individuals that kind of have that kind of obsessive aspect in their own personality.'

'It's not the games themselves that are addictive,' said Andrew Pedersen, senior vice president and general manager of social casinos for the cable channel Game Show Network, whose GSN Games division makes casino apps for smartphones. Game makers have struck deals with celebrities and popular brands to help increase their profile.

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