Gambling is a game of chance. Winning or losing depends on luck. Who wins or loses may also depend on the cheating done by the gambling operators. This places the gambler at the mercy of either blind luck or professional cheaters.
Gambling and cheating are inseparable partners. This is why as a rule, gambling operators win, and as norm, gamblers eventually end up as losers. Gambling is synonymous to fooling the gamblers and enriching the gambling operators together with their payola beneficiaries in and our of government service. This is the fundamental rationale why there are always people who gamble in the same way that there are always characters who operate gambling.
Gambling foments the culture of chance contrary to the demands of sound reason and logic. Furthermore, it promotes mandate of work and industry for people to earn their living and to contribute to the economic development of their community in one way or another according to their individual productive abilities.
Gambling in short means the pursuit of money without sweat or toil. Just as gamblers do not make bets to lose, much less do gambling operators finance gambling operations to lose. But the fact still remains that gambling operators always win eventually, and gamblers always lose finally. When a gambler wins, he again bets and bets in order to win more. But eventually, the gambler loses and the gambling operator wins.
Gambling progressively creates first the habit, then the vice and ultimately the addiction to games of chance. This gradual take-over of the human psyche by gambling is a big personal liability that can become no less than a socio-affective disorder that already needs the intervention of behavioral experts.
Gambling brings forth individuals who are liabilities to their families, a shame to their community and a danger to their work or employment. Gamblers are avoided by the relatives and friends, are unwelcome as employees of business companies. This is especially true in the management level. Gamblers are prone to pawn their assets much less than their real worth, make loans at usurious interests, engage in serious misrepresentations and even indulge in grave dishonesty only to finance their gambling. This is especially true of gamblers whom gambling operators already turned into addicts, i.e., people who live and act in the exploitative world of gambling.
Gambling is considered legal when it is approved by the law. In the country as of this writing, it is none other than the government itself that not only legalizes but also interestingly operates all legal gambling corporations.
Gambling that is currently  considered as illegal has the so-called and known “gambling lords” as operators. The fact that these named and identified operators of syndicated illegal gambling remain “untouchables” to this writing readily reveals that they are duly protected by no less then certain government officials and police authorities themselves.
(Reprinted with permission of Archbishop Emeritus Oscar V. Cruz, from www.ovc.blogspot.com)