Gambling and Betting. Why the Distinction?

[justdimin]

I was today years old when I found out that if betting and gambling isn't exactly the same thing. If you Google the word betting most of the  results will be in regards to sports betting. Also Google the word gambling and you will see most results refer to casino games. In my own opinion whether we bet on the outcome of a sports event or we bet on games of luck and skill in the casino, they are both the same thing. Which is why I wonder why there is this distinction between the two? Why can't we say casino betting just as we say sports betting or sports gambling just as we refer to the casino when we talk about gambling? I know it sounds weird saying casino betting or sports gambling but what do you think about this?

Gambling refers to the overall concept of staking something to get something on top of it, it can be anything, even if you are having a bet with someone that a certain thing would happen in the future which is also gambling, lotteries are a part of gambling as well. However, betting in general is used to refer to sports betting because when you are gambling in a casino, you make bets on games, but you don't call it betting but you call it gambling, and when you are in sports betting, you don't say I'm gambling, you say I'm betting on matches. That is probably the reason for this.

Otherwise, I don't see any reason why you can't use the word betting for gambling games but it is just more suitable to say it's gambling rather than betting even if you do make bets in it too.

[Blitzboy]

I was today years old when I found out that if betting and gambling isn't exactly the same thing. If you Google the word betting most of the  results will be in regards to sports betting. Also Google the word gambling and you will see most results refer to casino games. In my own opinion whether we bet on the outcome of a sports event or we bet on games of luck and skill in the casino, they are both the same thing. Which is why I wonder why there is this distinction between the two? Why can't we say casino betting just as we say sports betting or sports gambling just as we refer to the casino when we talk about gambling? I know it sounds weird saying casino betting or sports gambling but what do you think about this?

Gambling refers to the overall concept of staking something to get something on top of it, it can be anything, even if you are having a bet with someone that a certain thing would happen in the future which is also gambling, lotteries are a part of gambling as well. However, betting in general is used to refer to sports betting because when you are gambling in a casino, you make bets on games, but you don't call it betting but you call it gambling, and when you are in sports betting, you don't say I'm gambling, you say I'm betting on matches. That is probably the reason for this.

Otherwise, I don't see any reason why you can't use the word betting for gambling games but it is just more suitable to say it's gambling rather than betting even if you do make bets in it too.

Words matter, but we need to go deeper than just definitions. You're not wrong when you make a distinction - "gambling" and "betting" do have different flavors. But thats just the surface, the best people know that.

Its about how people think. Throw out "gambling" in a casino, and you get images of crazy odds, the whole flashy scene, not just the cards or the slots. But say "sports betting", and suddenly its about numbers, teams, who knows their stuff. Its a different mental game, even if luck is still involved.

Some folks might want to simplify things, and thats fine, but that ignores something important: the way these environments shape how people play, think, and feel. Its a complex business, one of the best, and we cant just dismiss that with simple words.

[Findingnemo]

The word gambling/gamble can be used in more wider perspective than just for the actual gambling while betting usually denotes some amount of money at stake. Google shows results from the Wikipedia it's just written by someone and can be edited by anyone so if you want to look out the meaning then both defines the same with slight differences and as long as you understand what it denotes there is no issue at al.

[topbitcoin]

There is not a very specific difference between gambling and betting, but what is certain is that both activities contain an element of risk and can lose the money we have. However, when talking about opportunities, gambling almost entirely relies on luck, while betting does not, because apart from relying on luck, skills in analyzing and making predictions are the main factors for someone to increase their chances of winning when placing a bet. In gambling, the odds are determined by the house or gambling organizer, so players will have little control over the gambling they do, with the exception of perhaps some types of gambling such as cards, where this type of gambling also involves skill in playing and mastery of the game. Meanwhile, in betting, someone can have more control over the bets they place.

However, apart from this, with all the risks posed by these activities, it is quite important for us to always ensure that the gambling activities and bets carried out are well controlled and do not cause significant losses or problems.

[Docnaster]

The word gambling/gamble can be used in more wider perspective than just for the actual gambling while betting usually denotes some amount of money at stake. Google shows results from the Wikipedia it's just written by someone and can be edited by anyone so if you want to look out the meaning then both defines the same with slight differences and as long as you understand what it denotes there is no issue at al.

There's a big difference between gambling and betting and to the best of my ability, I'll throw more insight to what I just said now. Gambling is anything that an individual willingly takes risks to get huge rewards at the end while betting is a form of gambling because in betting, you're required to stake money or a valuable in a risk to be rewarded hugely at the end. Gambling is wider than betting because different people use different things and engagements to gamble but in betting, you'll either stake money or or something else that has the same value with the amount if money expected of you.

[AbuBhakar]

There's a big difference between gambling and betting and to the best of my ability, I'll throw more insight to what I just said now. Gambling is anything that an individual willingly takes risks to get huge rewards at the end while betting is a form of gambling because in betting, you're required to stake money or a valuable in a risk to be rewarded hugely at the end. Gambling is wider than betting because different people use different things and engagements to gamble but in betting, you'll either stake money or or something else that has the same value with the amount if money expected of you.

You are talking about different form of gambling that doesn’t involved money which is irrelevant on this discussion because we are on gambling discussion board which obviously the one that involves money is always in subject of discussion here.

Gambling and betting is just the same if we use the general description of both words assuming gambling with money is what we are discussing. Both involves money to risk on game with odds. The only difference is gambling usually use to describe the actual game while betting is use specifically to describe your money at stake.

[Z_MBFM]

I was today years old when I found out that if betting and gambling isn't exactly the same thing. If you Google the word betting most of the  results will be in regards to sports betting. Also Google the word gambling and you will see most results refer to casino games. In my own opinion whether we bet on the outcome of a sports event or we bet on games of luck and skill in the casino, they are both the same thing. Which is why I wonder why there is this distinction between the two? Why can't we say casino betting just as we say sports betting or sports gambling just as we refer to the casino when we talk about gambling? I know it sounds weird saying casino betting or sports gambling but what do you think about this?

Some difference between sportsbet and casino games is that casino games are conducted through slot machines but sports bets are conducted based on live games.  Casino game addicts are those who want to win big jackpots easily and quickly. And sports betting is done by those who love sports and place bets on their favorite teams to enhance their enjoyment. However, for both bets, huge amounts of gamblers are seen. Because everyone's preferences and goals are different

[Zoomic]

The word gambling/gamble can be used in more wider perspective than just for the actual gambling while betting usually denotes some amount of money at stake. Google shows results from the Wikipedia it's just written by someone and can be edited by anyone so if you want to look out the meaning then both defines the same with slight differences and as long as you understand what it denotes there is no issue at al.

There's a big difference between gambling and betting and to the best of my ability, I'll throw more insight to what I just said now. Gambling is anything that an individual willingly takes risks to get huge rewards at the end while betting is a form of gambling because in betting, you're required to stake money or a valuable in a risk to be rewarded hugely at the end. Gambling is wider than betting because different people use different things and engagements to gamble but in betting, you'll either stake money or or something else that has the same value with the amount if money expected of you.

The only difference between gambling and betting is that gambling is the general name for games that involve staking money or any valuable thing, with the hope of making money if the outcome of the game is favourable. Betting on the other hand is a form of gambling just as we have other forms of gambling like poker, slot, online and physical casinos, sports betting, horse racing, dice games and many others. People can gamble on anything, what they gamble on does not change the fact that that's gambling, as long as something of value is staked and winning solely depends on the outcome of whatever is the subject of the gamble. If you ain't staking money or anything of value to gamble or bet (as you may call it), then it is not gambling,  you can call it something else because gambling involves risks.

[EarnOnVictor]

Whatever you choose to call it, gambling or betting, they are the same to me. Both words are interchangeable in a sentence.

Well to me i still don't see any much difference in them since both are all luck based game and when it dispute the gambling theorem them we can have them being classified separately. In sport betting after having all games selected, there odds are being multiplied by the total amount staked to give a potential winning and these depends on luck for someone to win.

Casino games and sports betting are not the same. Sports betting isn’t all luck. It takes skill and knowledge to be good at sports betting even with all that you still need a little bit of luck. Unlike slot games, there is no such thing as house advantage in sports betting. The game cannot be said to be rigged to favour the casino. The odds of you winning or losing depends on your analysis and predictions.

What I can only say here is that people are taking this far, there is nothing different between the two of them, they are certainly the same words that you can use interchangeably and that are best fitting in a particular sentence better than each other depending on the construction of the statement. There are places you will use gambling and it will fit better, and the same thing goes for betting. And if you use them interchangeably in these places, they might not sound perfect just for the right English structuring. That's the only difference I see with them. But for the meaning, reason and purpose, they are the same thing in all ramifications.

Also, we should forget about the luck and skills here, whether the gambling aspect we are dealing with requires skills or luck, this can't still eliminate the fact that we are betting and gambling in them. Once you gamble, you are betting, and when you are betting, you are gambling because the outcome of what you bet for is not known, so you are gambling on that.

[Webetcoins]

You already answered your own question there OP and that is both of them will sound weird if we interchange them but don't worry because even though not in direct terms, we still sometimes say that we gamble our money in sports and then we place a bet inside a casino.

I hope these simple sentences can still make you feel happy and contented. Another thing is maybe one of the words came out first? So, experts have no choice but to pair them with the other and people are now used to it despite the other word came out later on. This is also the reason on why Google results are showing like that but it does not mean that both words have different meanings.

[ginsan]

I was today years old when I found out that if betting and gambling isn't exactly the same thing. If you Google the word betting most of the  results will be in regards to sports betting. Also Google the word gambling and you will see most results refer to casino games. In my own opinion whether we bet on the outcome of a sports event or we bet on games of luck and skill in the casino, they are both the same thing. Which is why I wonder why there is this distinction between the two? Why can't we say casino betting just as we say sports betting or sports gambling just as we refer to the casino when we talk about gambling? I know it sounds weird saying casino betting or sports gambling but what do you think about this?

If you look at it from the nature of this definition it sounds different because of the difference in language, namely between betting and gambling but in fact the definition is the same, the mechanism is the same and both also bet money, it's just that we are more used to hearing that betting leans on things related to physical activity such as soccer matches, chess, boxing, volleyball, poker and other things like horse racing that we also often when choosing one of the teams to bet money on the course of a match it will be called a bet.
But meanwhile if gambling in the casino on the house game we call it gambling, and I am also often confused to define it but basically the two things are both betting money or goods to get a prize for the owner of the correct choice.

[LUCKMCFLY]

Well, this is clear to me, for me sports betting is very different from games of chance, because games of chance for me are representations of roulette, slot machines and things like that, but in reality for me sports betting is sports and requires much more knowledge and technical knowledge in occasions, in fact, for me sports bets have many more possibilities of winning, because they are done with knowledge, on the other hand, in games of chance, even if you know a lot, it is not possible to win, so that in view of these things we cannot play with so much freedom, we know that games of chance are just luck and that we have to take advantage of that luck when we are on a roll, sports bets can be won knowing, very rarely it is because of luck , but it is something that is much clearer.

[goaldigger]

I was today years old when I found out that if betting and gambling isn't exactly the same thing. If you Google the word betting most of the  results will be in regards to sports betting. Also Google the word gambling and you will see most results refer to casino games. In my own opinion whether we bet on the outcome of a sports event or we bet on games of luck and skill in the casino, they are both the same thing. Which is why I wonder why there is this distinction between the two? Why can't we say casino betting just as we say sports betting or sports gambling just as we refer to the casino when we talk about gambling? I know it sounds weird saying casino betting or sports gambling but what do you think about this?

Whatever you call it, that can still be consider as gambling as long as you place a bet with your money with a hope of winning and multiplying that money. Gambling is very broad, and every individual have their own interpretation about it and for me sports betting are just like casino betting as both of them have the risk and always have the money involve.

[Ojima-ojo]

The word gambling/gamble can be used in more wider perspective than just for the actual gambling while betting usually denotes some amount of money at stake. Google shows results from the Wikipedia it's just written by someone and can be edited by anyone so if you want to look out the meaning then both defines the same with slight differences and as long as you understand what it denotes there is no issue at al.

Gambling is a general term and betting is part of the term and for that we can still go ahead to ask when someone says he is a gambler you ask them what type of gambler is he and if he plays casinos games or just sports bets.


So for sure we need the clear off every form of misconceptions that may not arise to cause any confusion of both terms.

[khiholangkang]

The word gambling/gamble can be used in more wider perspective than just for the actual gambling while betting usually denotes some amount of money at stake. Google shows results from the Wikipedia it's just written by someone and can be edited by anyone so if you want to look out the meaning then both defines the same with slight differences and as long as you understand what it denotes there is no issue at al.

True, gambling is a general view with a wide enough scope that linguistically speaking, betting is also a gambling activity, in my opinion like the parent of the activity of risking money with any mechanism in my understanding.

And I think it doesn't matter if it's betting or gambling with the language that matters to me, I like betting and I also like gambling and both of them I also always play, but indeed if you want to be a smart gambler at least understand what the definition is so that it is more like an insightful person in gambling because it understands what betting and gambling are in language and terms.

[uneng]

Which is why I wonder why there is this distinction between the two? Why can't we say casino betting just as we say sports betting or sports gambling just as we refer to the casino when we talk about gambling? I know it sounds weird saying casino betting or sports gambling but what do you think about this?

I don't see any difference between both words. For me they mean the same thing and I don't know if there is any solid etymological explanation on why both terms should be seen as different between each other. I suppose the distinction is pure speculation by modern gamblers who have seen both terms recently and tried to develop a rational explanation to differentiate one from another. I was reading about this matter on the internet and found an interesting statement from an internet user: "in order to gamble, you have to place a bet", so both concepts are intimately interconnected in a very generic way.

You can say you are going to gamble, to bet or to wager, without any issues. People will understand what you mean, while at same time, these aren't uncommon or wrong terms to be used. They are perfectly fine, and I'm glad we have all of them, so we don't have to use the exact same word everytime we are talking about this matter.

[alani123]

People who do sports bets are sometimes never interested in gambling.
The thing is, chance based games are in principle very similar to how bookies set the house edge for sports bets too. For Two possible outcomes, the odds are never 2.0 and 2.0 or above. They're like 1.90 and 1.95 or something. So regardless of how bets are placed in both, there's an edge. And ofc if a large bet is made on one side the odds change and the bookie shifts the multipliers.

So really there's a house edge on every online casino game. But people who like sports sometimes disregard that. I do however think that sports gambling can be a little more renowned than just chance based games of someone is reserved with how he plays. Yes it's very unlikely to keep a winning streak for very long, but it's also not impossible to have some edge over the odds if you're exceptionally good at digesting information about a league you know. It's an unrealistic expectation to have however because if everyone was so good bookies wouldn't have a reason to exist. 

[nelson4lov]

AFAIK, someone coined the terms. How you use it is what matters.

Betting and gambling are the same to me because they both involve staking an amount of money in the hopes to win against the risk of losing. No need to complicate it because no gambler in a casino will be refused playing if he uses the word that he wants to place a bet, or a sports bettor refused placing a bet if they use the word that he/she wants to gamble.  

If you choose to call it betting, bet responsibly and if you want to call it gambling too, gamble responsibly because that is what is more important. 

Absolutely. Most people like overcomplicating very simple matters. The terms don't really matter much as long as you're doing the same thing essentially just as you've explained.

People who do sports bets are sometimes never interested in gambling.
~Snipped

So in your books, sports betting is not gambling? Saying that bettors are not interested in gambling contradicts itself because anyone taking on sports bet is taking a gamble on the outcome of the bet.

As for house edge and other differences, I think those are minor as long as you're taking similar actions on very specific risks.

[alani123]

So in your books, sports betting is not gambling? Saying that bettors are not interested in gambling contradicts itself because anyone taking on sports bet is taking a gamble on the outcome of the bet.

As for house edge and other differences, I think those are minor as long as you're taking similar actions on very specific risks.

Well to be precise, yes betting is a form of gambling but people who bet often don't really see it as such even though in principle it's similar to chance based games. They think they can overcome chance by utilizing their knowledge of certain leagues. Is this realistic? Of course not. In the end it's more likely than not that the odds as they're fixed by bookies will get to you. It is theoretically possible to have some people that win more predictions than the ones they lose.

But it's rare as I said because if this was the most frequent case bookies wouldn't exist and we'd just all play fantasy league to see who's actually the best at predictions against each other or something. So being realistic we can't expect any form of gambling to let us win all the time, be it chance based games or betting.

[arimamib]

The word gambling/gamble can be used in more wider perspective than just for the actual gambling while betting usually denotes some amount of money at stake. Google shows results from the Wikipedia it's just written by someone and can be edited by anyone so if you want to look out the meaning then both defines the same with slight differences and as long as you understand what it denotes there is no issue at al.

True, gambling is a general view with a wide enough scope that linguistically speaking, betting is also a gambling activity, in my opinion like the parent of the activity of risking money with any mechanism in my understanding.

And I think it doesn't matter if it's betting or gambling with the language that matters to me, I like betting and I also like gambling and both of them I also always play, but indeed if you want to be a smart gambler at least understand what the definition is so that it is more like an insightful person in gambling because it understands what betting and gambling are in language and terms.

Gambling is just the broader term of any activity to risk something of value on an uncertain outcome. Betting is a specific type of gambling where people bet on a prediction. So, in that sense, betting is a subcategory of gambling. The term might be interchangeable to enjoy the activity. Some people differentiate between games that rely purely on chance (like slot machines) and those that involve some skill (like poker).

People may call it betting or gambling, but they need to understand the risks and the odds, because those are the crucial part of the activity. Wise Gamblers know the terminology and the underlying mechanics to make informed decisions. The expectation is still the same which is to win more money after risking less amount of it in the bets. Some people may not care the meaning of the terms, they only do what the want to do with their own intentions.