have you ever been to prison? it is a tough life in there. no matter what you did or whether you were wrongly accused for something, prison is not for everyone. it is obviously lonely as you gets separated away from your family. it can get boring, not being able to do what you want.
but gambling, even tho is prohibited, is often what entertains most prisoners. there is no actual money in prison so they often exchange in other forms of currencies like food or smuggled items. even their way of gambling is smuggled. cards, dice and even information from the outside are all smuggled.
the reason why gambling is prohibited tho is because it might escalate into fights if someone for example loses and doesn't pay their debts
just shows how gambling will always exist anywhere
Depending on which prison you've been in. I've visited some prisons, and there's money where it's like a compound and a real market. There are merchants, workers and other sorts of typical thing that we see outside of it. But it's true, that inmates exchange goods if they have no money or they offer services for them to earn it. Gambling is one way there to earn money for them, this is for those desperate ones that don't have anything to sell but want to increase their money. For some, it's just a way to get entertained but many of them are serious with gambling inside not just to ease their boredom but also to target some multipliers and win money.