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
I have never been to jail but I don't want to go to jail in the future. I know for sure that no decent person can enter jail because they are criminals and are involved in misdeeds and smuggling. And those who commit smuggling and misdeeds are sent to jail as punishment when they are caught, and gambling inside the jail is completely illegal.
Such a situation has never arisen in my country, because using mobile or internet inside the jail is prohibited and they are kept under strict guard.
So this kind of gambling, smuggling, these are completely illegal inside the jail, so it is best to refrain from such immoral acts, such as gambling after being sentenced for a crime and prolonging the crime.
I don't know where you live but even in the most advanced countries cell phones enter and like the inmates inside they can do what they want, the fact of having the possibility to do what they want also leads them to gamble so it's not a strange thing to see them betting on everything.