You talking about casino coins/chips? I don't think they have a difference. It's a mentality thing here imo since it's common sense that chips hold some value that casinos dictate so that players can use them inside the casino. In your example even, walking in with a $50 and walking out with $40, that's still what happens with chips, you don't exactly walk out with chips after all lol, you change them out to money.

Now if this was about crypto, and trading in general, well yea, I'd consider thinking it's similar to gambling as dumb. If it was about the value then to each their own, but with considering it different to gambling then cheers to that mate. Being spent as a currency though, they're pretty much the same, I see no difference. They're called a currency for a reason, and if both parties agree that they have value and are willing to accept it, why bother arguing? That's how all trades started after all. Rejecting that pretty much rejects history.