What created the stigma towards gambling is not the act itself, but the addiction that someone develops in a continuous basis. Anyone who is addicted to something would exercise the means of satisfying themselves with that hobby. They fail to see the negative effects of it especially to their surroundings since they get close-minded whenever they do it.
Gambling, or like any other hobby that is addicting, can be dangerous if one lacks the discipline to control it.
For me, gambling is just another form of socialization but somehow some people will seriously make this as another profitable job(which they are wrong). Some of us have fall into addiction cause they'll never control themselves and so the government let this things happen.
Unless you made a right decision not to fall in gambling too much that will result to gambling addiction. Once a person started to learn then that person will have a hard time to stop being addicted in gambling for example. You are right about another kind of socialazation but it can also put you into a real mess which is hard to overcome and start worrying other things that will result in great stress and worst possible to happen is you'll be penniless.
Unfortunately, addicts (in general) only care about themselves and the hobby that they do. They tend to ignore the people that they affect and they are also manipulative at some point.