Why is gambling considered "bad"?

[arahant]

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Probably but I don't understand it. How is it any different than investing in the stock market, yet I don't see the religious right trying to outlaw that. And yes people get addicted to trading stocks just as they do other forms of gambling.

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Just playing devil's advocate here...
The big difference with the stock market is you're buying a piece of a company. You own something until you sell it, not unlike starting your own small business. It's just that there are thousands of co-owners with you. Gambling is just a wager with only cash exchanging hands.

Playing the market a certain way can be akin to gambling, but you can also do it different and invest in a company for the long term. Gambling is always gambling, no matter what.

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I think one big difference is that usually investing in the stock market is +EV, whereas usually gambooling is -EV. Not that I agree with the banning or regulating of gambling in any way.

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Yes. And as a further distinction, the existence of gambling requires a 'house'. It's easy to view most games as stealing from the weak, even though I prefer to think of it as a 'stupid tax'.

Frankly, I find myself a little sickened by poker now. I still play, but I HATE to play against idiots, drunks, and gambling addicts. I don't really believe in universal morals, but if I did, I would have to think that gambling was an immoral thing. And as a practical matter, there is little question that it is a source of suffering.