Its a sin without a doubt. Someone in this thread said you are playing with your own money and not doing something illegal but where are you getting your money if you win? From other persons, so both parties involved in gambling are sinners. I have quit not long time ago, but anyway I used to play just for fun,if I could find right results for the matches but have quit. Religion helps you immensely to quit it, no other alternatives.
Only religion can help you , especially strong ones like Islam in which gambling is explicitly an error (sin)
You can try all others, they will help you only temporarily, only religion will help you to quit once and for all.
This is just my opinion though and personal experience. I tried many things, self control and everything, but I kept getting back to gambling. Once I embraced religion, now I fear God thats why I stay away from gambling.
It is not like you are forced to gamble. You sound like humans are weak creatures without their own will and intellect and can't make decision on their own - unless religion forced them to.
Gambling is not evil, you are not stealing from others - if your way of thinking was correct then - any form of investment where you are not sure of the outcome: stocks, currency trading, other types of speculation is a sin too.
. Outside of religions most societies see gambling as a shady thing but it's largely depends on the success factor. Big wins can justify a gambling habit 
