Is gambling also referred as investment?

[Yeesha]

Most people gets deceived and takes that deception to become their reality possibly because it worked for them consecutively for the first through fifth time and then they take it as their foundation forgetting the reality behind what they are doing. If a person like your friend must have made good wins from his big bets, and that gave him the conviction that gambling is a good source of income, it simply means he will never realise what really gambling is driven by.

Gambling is completely 50/50 chance, an entertainment thing with no assured mind that winning is guaranteed. Trading with patience and the right decisions in the market is what determines whether you'll make profit or not. Both trading and gambling has risk, but the rush behind trading is more calculated and worth taking than that of gambling.

Both a gambler and an investor could be irrational, addictive, lunatic or behave recklessly, but that still doesn't make them the same thing. Both investor and gambler are risk takers, but a lot of investors takes calculated risk except those who are drowning in greed or lack of contentment. Responsible and smart investor hardly experience excessive loss, because they are aware of the principles of financial management, and the criteria that every investor needs to follow in order to achieve a peaceful and successful investor. Gambling does not genuinely require knowledge acquisition because it cannot in any way helps a gambler to win the game, neither does it have any strategy that would be beneficial or profitable to the gambler.

[kawetsriyanto]

Both a gambler and an investor could be irrational, addictive, lunatic or behave recklessly, but that still doesn't make them the same thing.

These are human nature, so anyone can do it (not only gambler or investor).

Both investor and gambler are risk takers, but a lot of investors takes calculated risk except those who are drowning in greed or lack of contentment. Responsible and smart investor hardly experience excessive loss, because they are aware of the principles of financial management, and the criteria that every investor needs to follow in order to achieve a peaceful and successful investor.

The risk in investment is capable to anticipate. Do analysis and put stop loss are two parts of some ways to anticipate it. True investors must always do it to deal with possible risk in their investment. Meanwhile in gambling, gamblers have no way to anticipate it (unless limiting the funds). It is because the luck factor which plays the vital role in gambling. It is quite different with investment that everything is learnable.

Gambling does not genuinely require knowledge acquisition because it cannot in any way helps a gambler to win the game, neither does it have any strategy that would be beneficial or profitable to the gambler.

Yep. Specifically for the luck based games, gamblers only need the "luck" factor to win it.

[hafiztalha]

Both a gambler and an investor could be irrational, addictive, lunatic or behave recklessly, but that still doesn't make them the same thing. Both investor and gambler are risk takers, but a lot of investors takes calculated risk except those who are drowning in greed or lack of contentment. Responsible and smart investor hardly experience excessive loss, because they are aware of the principles of financial management, and the criteria that every investor needs to follow in order to achieve a peaceful and successful investor. Gambling does not genuinely require knowledge acquisition because it cannot in any way helps a gambler to win the game, neither does it have any strategy that would be beneficial or profitable to the gambler.

The difference is valid, but the point here about hardly experience any loss if you are a responsible investor is a little bit fishy. Here is why because we know risk management limits exposure, but even a well informed investor can suffer a loss when the owned asset or market moves against them. And I don't say that, like in gambling you requires no knowledge or strategy gambler study odds game mechanics but that doesn't create a positive expected return. The main, or we can say most important, difference is whether our activity has a fundamentally expected outcomes or whether the participants can control the risk rather than just relying on a chance.

[Emeraldo]

~Snip~

Both a gambler and an investor could be irrational, addictive, lunatic or behave recklessly, but that still doesn't make them the same thing. Both investor and gambler are risk takers, but a lot of investors takes calculated risk except those who are drowning in greed or lack of contentment. Responsible and smart investor hardly experience excessive loss, because they are aware of the principles of financial management, and the criteria that every investor needs to follow in order to achieve a peaceful and successful investor. Gambling does not genuinely require knowledge acquisition because it cannot in any way helps a gambler to win the game, neither does it have any strategy that would be beneficial or profitable to the gambler.

Your explanation is understandable which create a wall between a real trader and a gambler. The both people may be risk takers but they are actually different from each other. A gambler does not need to secure a skill before starting to trade while it's gonna be different for someone that want to start trading. Trading is hard and uneasy to attain a high level of experience as trader but it's something different for someone that want to be a gambler. You don't even have to stress yourself before placing a bet and awaiting what the outcome of your game will be.

[ASloveapg]

~Snip~

Both a gambler and an investor could be irrational, addictive, lunatic or behave recklessly, but that still doesn't make them the same thing. Both investor and gambler are risk takers, but a lot of investors takes calculated risk except those who are drowning in greed or lack of contentment. Responsible and smart investor hardly experience excessive loss, because they are aware of the principles of financial management, and the criteria that every investor needs to follow in order to achieve a peaceful and successful investor. Gambling does not genuinely require knowledge acquisition because it cannot in any way helps a gambler to win the game, neither does it have any strategy that would be beneficial or profitable to the gambler.

Your explanation is understandable which create a wall between a real trader and a gambler. The both people may be risk takers but they are actually different from each other. A gambler does not need to secure a skill before starting to trade while it's gonna be different for someone that want to start trading. Trading is hard and uneasy to attain a high level of experience as trader but it's something different for someone that want to be a gambler. You don't even have to stress yourself before placing a bet and awaiting what the outcome of your game will be.

The difference between trading and gambling is huge, they are of different types, a gambler relies solely on luck at the push of a button, whereas a trader researches everything through knowledge, experience, analysis about the market and trades at the right time, and then everything here depends on skill. Risk is in everything, but that does not mean everything is gambling. If we want to talk according to this theory, then even a business has risk, so is that business also a gamble? Lol, so those who arrange everything their own way, they can do everything as they wish, and can also consider gambling as an investment, but in the end they are always wrong and the result of these is only disappointment.

[kawetsriyanto]

Your explanation is understandable which create a wall between a real trader and a gambler. The both people may be risk takers but they are actually different from each other. A gambler does not need to secure a skill before starting to trade while it's gonna be different for someone that want to start trading. Trading is hard and uneasy to attain a high level of experience as trader but it's something different for someone that want to be a gambler. You don't even have to stress yourself before placing a bet and awaiting what the outcome of your game will be.

Yep. You get the point of his explanation. 
No doubt, both of them are categorized as risk takers because both have the risk. We can call it is high risk.
However, both are different if we view it from the ability to do it. Trading requires specific skills or specific ability. Meanwhile in gambling, we even don't need to have any skill for certain games. So, the difference is quite clear from this aspect.

[Oluwa-btc]

I don't agree with your colleague, OP.
Investment for me is not like this; investing for me is putting your money where you expect real value over time, like a business or an asset that produces something along the way..

As I believe (others too) Gambling always built to favor the house, so the longer you play, the more you lose on average.

As much as gambling has made a lot of people who gamble wisely millionaires and billionaires, I still do not consider it to be investment.
Gambling is gambling and investment is investment.
Investment will definitely give you enough time to get back whatever funds utilised but gambling? All of your staking power will be gone in a flash and there's absolutely, nothing you can do to get back the money unlike properly dome investments.

[Ayers]

As much as gambling has made a lot of people who gamble wisely millionaires and billionaires, I still do not consider it to be investment.
Gambling is gambling and investment is investment.
Investment will definitely give you enough time to get back whatever funds utilised but gambling? All of your staking power will be gone in a flash and there's absolutely, nothing you can do to get back the money unlike properly dome investments.

honestly, i've never even seen gambling produce steady profits, let alone turn people into millionaires or billionaires. 
investing also comes with risk and no guaranteed profit. if you invest without knowledge, losing money is pretty much unavoidable.

the difference between the two is actually pretty simple, as many people have already pointed out. when you're gambling, you don't really own anything. with investing, you own a valuable asset or a share of a business. whether you make or lose money depends on your own skills and how you invest.

[Olatundespo]

I don't agree with your colleague, OP.
Investment for me is not like this; investing for me is putting your money where you expect real value over time, like a business or an asset that produces something along the way..

As I believe (others too) Gambling always built to favor the house, so the longer you play, the more you lose on average.

As much as gambling has made a lot of people who gamble wisely millionaires and billionaires, I still do not consider it to be investment.
Gambling is gambling and investment is investment.
Investment will definitely give you enough time to get back whatever funds utilised but gambling? All of your staking power will be gone in a flash and there's absolutely, nothing you can do to get back the money unlike properly dome investments.

You are right. Most gamblers lose money while a very few smart gamblers get rich by gambling. You might call those wise gamblers lucky. One of the similarities between trading and gambling is that you put your funds at risk. There is no similarity between gamblers and long term investors.
A long term investor can invest without risking his capital. Even if you only buy Bitcoin lump sum your responsibility is not ends. You should also accumulate Bitcoin regularly through patience and discipline, only then will your chances of not being at risk increase.

[nara1892]

Gambling and investing are two things in common  the same risk, but it does not mean the two are the same especially from the way it works, the way it works makes one of the two different, gambling can be more risky because the results are set by the bookie as a business owner, the percentage of defeat is much greater than victory, while in investing it's not like that, especially if you compare it to Bitcoin, if for example you put $100 then you take a long time to lose everything, while in gambling all of it can be lost in a matter of minutes, your skills and knowledge can also increase your potential return on investment.

[ChocolateBitcoinK]

I don't agree with your colleague, OP.
Investment for me is not like this; investing for me is putting your money where you expect real value over time, like a business or an asset that produces something along the way..

As I believe (others too) Gambling always built to favor the house, so the longer you play, the more you lose on average.

As much as gambling has made a lot of people who gamble wisely millionaires and billionaires, I still do not consider it to be investment.
Gambling is gambling and investment is investment.
Investment will definitely give you enough time to get back whatever funds utilised but gambling? All of your staking power will be gone in a flash and there's absolutely, nothing you can do to get back the money unlike properly dome investments.

You are right. Most gamblers lose money while a very few smart gamblers get rich by gambling. You might call those wise gamblers lucky. One of the similarities between trading and gambling is that you put your funds at risk. There is no similarity between gamblers and long term investors.
A long term investor can invest without risking his capital. Even if you only buy Bitcoin lump sum your responsibility is not ends. You should also accumulate Bitcoin regularly through patience and discipline, only then will your chances of not being at risk increase.

But I think no investment can ever be risk-free. You are investing in Bitcoin, but will you get a guarantee of success from anywhere? You are holding Bitcoin for the long term, doing everything right, your chances of success are increasing very well, but are you sure about the success of your investment by investing correctly? Nothing can be risk-free, there is risk where you are investing, there is risk where you are doing business, there will be risk where you are trading, but does having risk mean that it can be gambling? There is a big difference between the risk of gambling and the risk of everything else. Gambling is where you have nothing to do, everything depends on luck, but all other things, trading or business, or investment, in these cases you have to research, manage it properly, work hard, after that you have to create your chances of success in these, and then that's how you become successful, but gambling is completely different.

[Cyber_warrior]

As much as gambling has made a lot of people who gamble wisely millionaires and billionaires, I still do not consider it to be investment.
Gambling is gambling and investment is investment.
Investment will definitely give you enough time to get back whatever funds utilised but gambling? All of your staking power will be gone in a flash and there's absolutely, nothing you can do to get back the money unlike properly dome investments.

honestly, i've never even seen gambling produce steady profits, let alone turn people into millionaires or billionaires. 
investing also comes with risk and no guaranteed profit. if you invest without knowledge, losing money is pretty much unavoidable.

the difference between the two is actually pretty simple, as many people have already pointed out. when you're gambling, you don't really own anything. with investing, you own a valuable asset or a share of a business. whether you make or lose money depends on your own skills and how you invest.

I don’t think it even right to compare the 2, instead gambling should be compared to trading. Investment comes with you owning a piece of something just like you said, it could be stock, shares, landed property and so much more but in gambling the only thing you have is being a potential winner. We know both doesn’t come with a guarantee of possible return but with investment you have some kind of rest of mind than gambling.

Gambling is something that mostly relies on luck, I know it requires you studying and trying to pick the best possible outcome, but in investment, your knowledge can really be very much useful than in gambling.

[CryptoBuds]

Gambling and investing are two things in common  the same risk, but it does not mean the two are the same especially from the way it works, the way it works makes one of the two different, gambling can be more risky because the results are set by the bookie as a business owner, the percentage of defeat is much greater than victory, while in investing it's not like that, especially if you compare it to Bitcoin, if for example you put $100 then you take a long time to lose everything, while in gambling all of it can be lost in a matter of minutes, your skills and knowledge can also increase your potential return on investment.

IMO, the speed at which you lose money is not what determines the level of risk. Bitcoin might not make you lose the whole $100 in a few minutes like gambling can, but you can still lose everything if you invest the wrong way or blindly.

As many people have pointed out, gambling is riskier because you basically don't own any asset and the outcome is based on luck. With investing, you can reduce and manage the risks by gaining knowledge, allocating your capital properly, managing risk,,,

In investing, the outcome does not only depend on the asset itself, but also very much on how you invest. Bitcoin won't save you from losses if you don't have the knowledge. At that point, you're basically just gambling, not investing.

[knowngunman]

Gambling does not genuinely require knowledge acquisition because it cannot in any way helps a gambler to win the game, neither does it have any strategy that would be beneficial or profitable to the gambler.

Yep. Specifically for the luck based games, gamblers only need the "luck" factor to win it.

I like the way you put it @kawetsriyanto. Luck based games specifically don't require much knowledge. @Yeesha generalised gambling does not require knowledge which is not entirely accurate.

There are some that require knowledge. Sports betting is one good example of games that requires skill. Although having the knowledge does not make you win automatically but at least it puts you ahead of a gambler who's playing purely on luck on games that requires skill.

As per Op question, it's weird for a gambler to assume he's investing. I will agree gamblers are investing only if we agree the investment is not expected to make any returns.

[As-Soon-As]

It is a misconception to think that money put into gambling can be recovered like a deposit; in fact, the likelihood of incurring a loss is highest when you gamble. Therefore, you should not expect to get back the money you have lost; if you lose more than you can afford, there is no way to safely recoup those funds. While trading independently might offer a chance of profit, there are no guarantees involved—though, unlike gambling, investments can sometimes offer a level of assurance regarding returns.

Is he right from what you think?

In the current position, you can follow the strategies to profit in trading, because the more strategies you follow, the more profit you will have. Trading is very risky, so you should not take excessive risks in it, so it is better to trade by taking as much risk as you can take on yourself.

[Iamgoat]

Both a gambler and an investor could be irrational, addictive, lunatic or behave recklessly, but that still doesn't make them the same thing. Both investor and gambler are risk takers, but a lot of investors takes calculated risk except those who are drowning in greed or lack of contentment. Responsible and smart investor hardly experience excessive loss, because they are aware of the principles of financial management, and the criteria that every investor needs to follow in order to achieve a peaceful and successful investor. Gambling does not genuinely require knowledge acquisition because it cannot in any way helps a gambler to win the game, neither does it have any strategy that would be beneficial or profitable to the gambler.

I wish to disagree with you on your statement saying both a Gambler and an Investor are the same. Saying they can be both irrational and addictive and lunatic. I would hardly compare an investor with a gambler for whatever reasons because I still see them in different light. Gambling is something you do for fun, it is not supposed to be done for just financial gains rather than for fun and enjoyment then the reward which comes with it which is where the money comes in. As for investment, it is a different thing entirely. It is when you safeguard your money for the future, it can be in few months or even several years depending on how mature you have capped your investments to be.

[Nheer]

It is a misconception to think that money put into gambling can be recovered like a deposit; in fact, the likelihood of incurring a loss is highest when you gamble. Therefore, you should not expect to get back the money you have lost; if you lose more than you can afford, there is no way to safely recoup those funds. While trading independently might offer a chance of profit, there are no guarantees involved—though, unlike gambling, investments can sometimes offer a level of assurance regarding returns.

No guarantee at all on recovering what we loss in gambling because gambling isn’t a place that states that your loss money will be return not especially when gambling is more about luck. Had it been there are some reliable strategies that when applied there might be chances of gaining back our loss money in one way or the other then I would accept that we can make recovery but it just luck.
But in trading and investing there are some strategies that might help to get our loss money back even if it isn’t a high percentage guarantee but there are chances of the losses money to be recovered.

Is he right from what you think?

In the current position, you can follow the strategies to profit in trading, because the more strategies you follow, the more profit you will have. Trading is very risky, so you should not take excessive risks in it, so it is better to trade by taking as much risk as you can take on yourself.

But this shouldn’t get to convince some people about what trading is, following some strategies doesn’t mean we must make profits. Some strategies might not work well for us and even if it works it might not generate profits for us how we are thinking, there are challenges in trading too and trading is risky and can be draining too.

[Pressurizedem]

Both a gambler and an investor could be irrational, addictive, lunatic or behave recklessly, but that still doesn't make them the same thing. Both investor and gambler are risk takers, but a lot of investors takes calculated risk except those who are drowning in greed or lack of contentment. Responsible and smart investor hardly experience excessive loss, because they are aware of the principles of financial management, and the criteria that every investor needs to follow in order to achieve a peaceful and successful investor. Gambling does not genuinely require knowledge acquisition because it cannot in any way helps a gambler to win the game, neither does it have any strategy that would be beneficial or profitable to the gambler.

I wish to disagree with you on your statement saying both a Gambler and an Investor are the same. Saying they can be both irrational and addictive and lunatic. I would hardly compare an investor with a gambler for whatever reasons because I still see them in different light. Gambling is something you do for fun, it is not supposed to be done for just financial gains rather than for fun and enjoyment then the reward which comes with it which is where the money comes in. As for investment, it is a different thing entirely. It is when you safeguard your money for the future, it can be in few months or even several years depending on how mature you have capped your investments to be.

I think the little mistake here is between trading, investing and gambling. These are three different things, and they must be defined properly according to where they belong. Trading is the very thing similar to gambling, and not long term investment. In as much as we call trading investment, to me, we can also call gambling investment because most of the things that are done in trading also reflect in gambling too.


Gamblers believe that by gambling, one day their story will change, same way does a trader thinks too , and the two are also for one purpose which is making money, so there is very right to say the both of them work hand in hand and they both drive at one particular end which is making money.

[Jostern]

I don't agree with your colleague, OP.
Investment for me is not like this; investing for me is putting your money where you expect real value over time, like a business or an asset that produces something along the way..

As I believe (others too) Gambling always built to favor the house, so the longer you play, the more you lose on average.

As much as gambling has made a lot of people who gamble wisely millionaires and billionaires, I still do not consider it to be investment.
Gambling is gambling and investment is investment.
Investment will definitely give you enough time to get back whatever funds utilised but gambling? All of your staking power will be gone in a flash and there's absolutely, nothing you can do to get back the money unlike properly dome investments.

You make so much sense from your statement, but there is quite some difference between gambling and investment, but we shouldn’t neglect the fact that some people who gamble puts a lot of efforts into gambling, because some of this people who gamble have to study some certain types of numbers to make predictions, and checking of previous statistics, you can’t totally neglect their efforts as well, which I think gambling would just be gambling, even after doing all that, there is no guarantee winning while gambling, I think the best way to approach gambling is just seeing it as entertainment and having fun.

Talking about investment, you can’t compare investment with gambling it’s totally different things entirely, when making investments I think you have some sort of guarantee if you do the right things with your investment, there is definitely some percentage of guarantee when you make a physical investment like putting your money into something that has value, and it actually depends on what type of investment you put your money into, Ponzi scheme which is more like a get rich quick is different from proper investment.

[kawetsriyanto]

I like the way you put it @kawetsriyanto. Luck based games specifically don't require much knowledge. @Yeesha generalised gambling does not require knowledge which is not entirely accurate.

Yep, I specifically refer to luck based games. It will be a bit different if we are talking about skill based games. This requires certain skills, people can't only solely rely the luck factor in this kind of games.

There are some that require knowledge. Sports betting is one good example of games that requires skill. Although having the knowledge does not make you win automatically but at least it puts you ahead of a gambler who's playing purely on luck on games that requires skill.

Indeed. Sport betting requires the skills of analysis and the knowledge related to the sports itself. We also need to update the information about the sports, current news/issue can make the difference during the match. Moreover if it is related to the issue of preparation, injury, or mentality of the players. However, it is true that the luck factor also takes a role in this game.

As per Op question, it's weird for a gambler to assume he's investing. I will agree gamblers are investing only if we agree the investment is not expected to make any returns.

Exactly. It is quite strange idea to assume gambling as an investment. Instead of earning money, it mostly tends to waste money (spending).