It seems to me that not the games themselves are part of human culture, but the need for distraction, the need to relax from everyday life. People need specially allocated periods of time in which they can not restrain their desires. For example, in the Middle Ages such an instrument of "detente" was carnivals. Games for modern people are like medieval carnivals. While playing, people forget about time, about their duties, about problems. They are just well, they are not not responsible at this particular moment and only experience good emotions.
Distraction is a good call for it. Sometimes it can really be fun if it wants to and most especially depending on who is in the picture, but I would not see it as being part of the culture as some usually do not fancy it anyway and they would rather do other things than gamble even if it is legal. I feel it is just a personal thing and people have their own way of perceiving things and while some see it as a way to socialize, some see it in a different way.
Good point, as mention we do have our owned position about every matters around us, even we live in such culture but if we do have different belief
then we are not going to follow or embrace such things, though it can possibly attract the person but if he don't have the excitement then it will not
do the same, same treat with gambling if we really don't like it, we will not be force in any event that we need to follow the culture playing or entertaining
such activity.