I can tell you that there are alot of well experienced gamblers today who view gambling, both online and offline, not as any means of entertainment but solely as a means for them to make money, this type of gamblers treat gambling as a serious business and this is how we usually see some of them that are particularly interested in playing lotto or pool, we see some of them sitting in the game shop, searching through a large paper which contains all the numbers that previously won, from this, they will try to forecast what number will play in the present and future, they can spend their entire day doing this.
But personally, I would say that the sooner a person realizes and only treat gambling as a fun venture, the better their life becomes, except if the person is already rich before he or she started gambling.
It's undeniable that many people gamble, even those with experience, and some do it as a way to make money, even though I suspect they understand the risks. And with what you mentioned about the numbers, this happened to my brother-in-law. Every day he carries paper and writing tools to write down certain numbers. I saw quite a lot of them, lined up sideways and down. I myself don't understand this type of gambling, which is usually called lottery in my neighborhood. That's a routine activity my brother-in-law does, but I've never seen him win, or perhaps he's deliberately hiding it.