I don't think so, if these people are degenerate in mind then the government should ban all forms of gambling because they do not want a society with degenerate minds, some go to gambling sites for entertainment and some to make money of course, there's a risk factor, but if you have a supportive friends and family you will not end up as a compulsive gambler.
You can get both experiences from the two types of gamblers which will affect your mentality with which you look at gambling. Those gamblers who usually lose in the gambling will always resist you to abstain yourself from gambling but those gamblers who are having a good time with it will encourage you to do the same. You should not really make your mind to start gambling just for money reason.
Yeah some people use to do this when they get bad experience so they try to make other people aware of the all bad about gambling but it does not mean they are jealous or something else maybe they dont want you to lose the way they did, if you will gain experience from then and try to figure out what was the reason of their lose try to avoid those mistakes and learn from it.