Verb

gambling

1. Present participle of gamble.

Noun

gambling (plural gamblings)

1. An activity characterised by a balance between winning and losing that is governed by a mixture of skill and chance.

Gambling is the wagering of money or something of material value (referred to as "the stakes") on an event with an uncertain outcome with the primary intent of winning additional money and/or material goods. Typically, the outcome of the wager is evident within a short period.

The term gaming in this context typically refers to instances in which the activity has been specifically permitted by law. The two words are not mutually exclusive; i.e., a “gaming” company offers (legal) “gambling” activities to the public. This distinction is not universally observed in the English-speaking world, however. For instance, in the UK, the regulator of gambling activities is called the Gambling Commission (not the Gaming Commission). Also, the word gaming is frequently used to describe activities that do not involve wagering, especially online.

Gambling is also a major international commercial activity, with the legal gambling market totalling an estimated $335 billion in 2009.

History

Religious

Religious perspectives on gambling have been mixed. Both the Catholic and Jewish traditions have even set aside days for gambling, (for Jews Hanukkah), although religious authorities generally disapprove of gambling. Ancient Jewish authorities frowned on gambling, even disqualifying professional gamblers from testifying in court. Gambling has often been seen as having social consequences. For these social and religious reasons, most legal jurisdictions limit gambling. Some Islamic nations prohibit gambling; most other countries regulate it.

Quotes about/related to Gambling

Sourced

• Gambling is risk-taking. It might be said the owner of a casino gambles, takes risks, but he has the odds in his favour, so that’s intelligent gambling. If I wanted to gamble, I’d buy the casino.
  • Jean Paul Getty, Sr. (1892-1976), American oil tycoon. From his 1963 interview with Alan Whicker, as quoted in Whicker’s book, Within Whicker’s World', Pt. V. ‘Sutton Place: The Rosebud of Citizen Getty’ (1982)

• When you’re betting and you win, naturally you have that satisfaction, and the profit.
  • George Soros, From an interview with Niall Ferguson, in the Channel 4 television series, The Ascent of Money, broadcast on 22nd December 2008

• That the chance of gain is naturally over-valued, we may learn from the universal success of lotteries.
  • Adam Smith, The Wealth of Nations (1776)

Unsourced

• Capitalism is the joy of gambling.
  • Anonymous

• [Gambling] is a way of throwing money down the toilet without people calling you insane.
  • Anonymous

• [Gambling] is the sure way of getting nothing for something.
  • Wilson Mizner

• The gambling known as business looks with austere disfavor upon the business known as gambling.
  • Ambrose Bierce

• The lottery: a tax on people who flunked math.
  • Monique Lloyd

• The lottery: A tax on people who are bad at math.
  • A bumper sticker

From Wikiquote under the GNU Free Documentation License.
Fri Jun 25 23:10:42 2010