Yesterday I played free card games on the computer and had a lot of fun and it was also quite exciting. You know, I play different games: both paid and free. And sometimes, based on the fascination and the pleasure I get, I find it difficult to say which games captivate me more. But I would be interested in how you answer the question of whether free games can be considered gambling. Another way to put this is: can gambling be free? Do free games excite you as much as games that involve betting money?
But then, not all are in search of this kind of a high. To some, free play is more than enough because they get to have fun with the game and not have pressure tied to the outcome. In the end, whether free play is gambling or not depends on what you consider gambling. If you look at gambling as any activity that involves staking money, then free play is not meeting that criterion. But if you look at gambling as an activity that brings about a specific thrill or causes specific emotions to be triggered, then free play can be considered a part of that, although on a different level.
Either way, both have their place. Free play lets us enjoy the game without any stakes, and paid play can provide a richer experience where the stakes make it more exciting. So both can be attractive in their own ways, depending on what one wants from a game.