I can't sare with you any consant positivly side of "the coin", because I had sa good moments as bad ones, and by the law when everything is good it's good and when I get lost - it worst.
I think that gambling has affected positively people when they are having fun when they are using it to bond. When the game is used purely for entertainment and not to profit. When poker and blackjack or dive and online betting are for bragging rights it makes people bond stronger.
But it cannot be prevented to aim for profit, because strong bonds of people doing gambling will become more entertaining. So people will intimately have their own desire to make fun and lucky profit ti be together to make sense of their gambling activities as well.