[Lazare]

Fundamentally both "gambling" and "insurance" are about trading a stream of small guaranteed payments for a chance at receiving a large payment. More generally, it's about trading risk. In insurance the risk is transferred to the insurance company; in gambling the risk is trasnferred to the gambler.

They're precisely the same transaction, just packaged in different ways, and with tons of overlap. What differs is the participants.

Individuals don't tend to want or need a lot of risk, so a transaction where risk is transferred from an individual to a large company (like an insurance company) is generally good, and one where risk is transferred from a large company (like a casino) to an individual is generally bad.

[foogazi]

With life, home, auto insurance you already bought in on one side of the outcome (life, property value) - you are trying to minimize your loss.

With a football match you are not staked to either side - gambling event happen everyday around you and have no effect on you.