Gambling

Is gambling really a bad thing? Seems like it's becoming more and more acceptable in modern society. In the lecture though, we discussed things that are not usually considered gambling, car insurance for example.

So if something as common as car insurance is considered gambling, surely it can't be a 'bad' thing. Ask someone in the street though, and the majority would tell you that gambling is not a positive thing, so what exactly about gambling do we not like? Well, maybe it's not the gambling itself that is a problem (although that's not to say that sometimes it can become one) but the things that some people do to cheat you out of your money under the guise of a gambler.

Could it be the perceived image of gambling and people that gamble that hold the negative connotations? Or is gambling in general a bad thing?