I had never been prison before. It seems like you're telling this with your own life experience. It's sad that you've to go through all of this. Your scenery remembered me my childhood gambling. We used to play with marbles ball  , it's some sort of game where a player can lose their all of their marble's. All though it has no connection with money, but we used to buy those marble with our savings. It was probably very early stage at the age 6/7. I wondered that time why our parents didn't liked it. That game was also addicted, some guys would play all day long.

Ig it's goes with your saying, Gambling existed everywhere. Even though materials could be completely different. But the fundamental of gambling , "losing asset to the winner" always exist.