Serious investigation of the gambling process discloses the fact
that pure gambling does not afford any economic basis of livelihood,
save in a few cases where, as at the roulette table or in a lottery,
those who gamble know and willingly accept the chances against them.
And even in the case of the roulette table the profits to the bank
come largely from the advantage which a large fund possesses in play
against a smaller fund; in the fluctuations of the game the smaller
fund which plays against the bank is more than likely at some point in
the game to be absorbed so as to disable the player from continuing
his play.
If a man with $5,000 were to play "pitch and toss" for $5 gold pieces
with a number of men, each of whom carried only $50, he must, if they
played long enough, win all their money. So, even where skill and
fraud are absent, economic force is a large factor in success.