i have many "normal?' hobbies but gambling is one of my favorites
however there are two distinct branches way too different from my POV , i will reply to OP twice :
1. Real life gambling
Meeting interesting people , even gambling maniacs are in a wicked way so interesting to watch , better than Netflix !
Making lowest bets possible is my way , i buy satisfaction winning against variance beast , and bragging a bit around !
I am always too relaxed as a person , i love to listen to my heart beat , proof i am alive kind of
So gambling for you is more about socializing, bonding and connecting with people, right
In other words, it is just a way of doing these things. But could you get there doing something else, or, more generally speaking, could we get whatever we get out of gambling via other routes? I mean emotionally, purely financial incentives aside. But even with money, there are different ways to earn dough, while gambling is definitely not the best way of making a living (unless you are a casino owner yourself)
The point is, after we have explored the questions raised in the OP and found plausible answers to them (like gambling being a sort of roller coaster when we need it), we could go further and start looking for alternatives to it which would give us essentially the same emotional boost but without its side effects like losing money and having to deal with withdrawal (if you are a gambling addict)