Betting is very different from gambling in the eyes of the state. Although I think that in essence they are the same. In many countries gambling is prohibited, but betting is not, and this is strange. Because both of these activities are addictive. And it does not matter that in one case it is a game and in the other a sport. In both cases, chance is very important, and it has the final say in any game and any match. But for some reason in Prime Time I see betting ads, and at the same time I read about new tightening of laws for organizing casinos.
You have spoken really well, but based on my own personal experience, I will have to disagree with you on your thought that gambling and betting are equally addictive, this is not true, and let me also say that I know you did not use the word "equally" in your comment but this is exactly how your comment passes out to me, and perhaps, other users/readers too.
Gambling, as it's related to playing Slot games, card games, casino games, poker and the rest, is way more addictive than betting as this relates to sports mostly,
Gambling is playing games where it take a little more than a few seconds to tell whether you won a game or lost it, and because of this, a gambler can spin on a game more than a thousand times in a day, even under a few hours actually, and the more time one spend gambling, the more chances they have to getting addicted.
Meanwhile in betting, you place a bet and sometimes, have to wait for hours or even days before you know the out come of your bet, this give betters the time to spend doing other things that take their minds away from betting, thereby significantly reducing their chances of getting addicted.