Nothing can harm you until you give them the privilege to do so. It's not necessary what has harmed us so much, but gambling is a super quick process and BTC investments took more than a decade for the earliest investors to unlock the true potential value (jackpot prize) of BTC. Gambling gives quick results and needs luck, whereas BTC investments need you to hold for a longer term for it to grow (or lose) its value. So comparison of both isn't possible.
The OP's comparison between gambling and bitcoin also makes me feel that the OP is underestimating bitcoin quite a bit. It is a potential asset, a technological breakthrough and is considered to bring innovation to the world's financial industry, while gambling is just a form of entertainment that can be addictive. Therefore, it would be lame and somewhat underestimating bitcoin to compare bitcoin with gambling. Bitcoin is on a much higher level than gambling.