As I said, I don't disagree with you
But still you make it look and sound like casino operators profit from something else (house edge) other than their gamblers. Even if technically true, it is not the house edge, it is the money of players that becomes the money of a casino. Whether the money is coming from compulsive gamblers or normal ones is irrelevant from this perspective. It is a zero-sum game after all (plus or minus the house edge)
Exactly, and that's my point. Some players are winning and others are losing at the same time, and what is won by the former group is compensated by the latter one. And what's left for the gambling site is the house edge, not the money lost by some players.
Gambling sites want as many players as possible not only because the more money is wagered on the site, the more the site earns due to the house edge, but also because if only a few players are there, it becomes a game between them and the site: if someone loses big, it's the site's profit, BUT if someone wins big, the site has to shell out a big money.
And, being serious businessmen, gambling site owners don't want to gamble, they prefer the security/stability of earning from the house edge, when gamblers, basically, play with each other and pay to the site, in the form of the house edge, for providing a platform for gambling.
I know it may seem like only poker sites operate this way, but, in fact, it's applicable to all gambling sites with thousands of active users.
That is also the main reason why they keep advertising to attract more of the peoples attention and join the house to play. Since there are also lots of competition they are also upgrading little by little.
Imagine they only launched recently and then they got sudden bankrupt because they lose more than they earn, then immediately they will shutdown. Anyway this feels like we are talking some basic business or structure of any casinos, its completetely irrelevant.