Could be in any context. I do it a little on UFC fights but that’s a relatively low amount and I can afford I to lose any time I do. It seems like it’s becoming a really wide spread problem though, at least in the US. At the same time I don’t see why it should be illegal. Granted I also don’t think any drug should be illegal.
I’m talking about the action itself, not taxation. Taxation is separate to the gambling. In theory, if people didn’t spend that money on gambling they would then spend it on something else which would also be taxed (or is taxed lower because the action itself is beneficial)