Still gambling may not the best option for spending the coins, as far as I am concerned.
How is gambling related to this thread?
Sounds to me like asset speculation fits right in there.
An important difference being that with gambling your chances of winning are statistically lower than losing. With asset speculation, if done well, you only bet on things that have a higher chance of winning than of losing. Risk/reward calculations and all that...
And if you ask me the risk/reward ratio of bitcoin right now is not favorable. Compared to for example the risk/reward of an investment in Satoshi Dice. And short term I would say that even the risk/reward ratio of dollars is better than bitcoins.
The wikipedia makes no mention of a house advantage being necessary to make it gambling.
It gives speculation a solid maybe, and I'm happy to leave it there.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gambling#Other_uses_of_the_term_.22gambling.22