Depends what game you are playing. I love playing poker and have always in the end made money from it. When you aremt playing head to head against the house you can easily make a living off it if you had to and depended on it. That's why in poker you see the same type people in the cash at all these tournaments. I do think poker is an anomaly because it's a mix between gambling and sport.
The fact is all gambling activities require luck however it's relative based on the fact that the level of luck required to ace a win depends on the gambling activity. Some gambling activities require more luck than others, some require more of experience and others. , factors like ability to carry out analysis and calculations.
Part of the reasons why different gamblers have different games and gambling activities of preference is because of the fact that not everyone is very good at making analysis and calculations and likewise not everyone is equally lucky when it comes to winning bets.