Gambling is wagering something of value on a random event with the intent to win something else of value where instances of strategy are discounted. Gambling has been observed to induce impacts at personal, interpersonal and community/society levels. These impacts can be both monetary and non-monetary. The most commonly analyzed monetary costs of gambling are financial and labor, while the social costs are often ignored in calculations, being more difficult to quantify.

For some people, the motivation to gamble is influenced by social interactions at gambling venues which offer social settings for meeting and talking with others. However, most people who gamble are driven by the dream of winning money. Vulnerability to developing a gambling disorder is higher in young people, those with low incomes and women. Gambling can be a form of addiction that consumes time, money and relationships. For problem gamblers, overcoming the addiction can be hard, and they should seek help from a counselor or peer support group such as Gamblers Anonymous.

In the short term, a gambling company makes a profit by offering a service to gamblers. This involves bringing gamblers into the venue, providing them with entertainment, and collecting a bet. To make the profits necessary to survive, gambling companies need to have bigger-than-average margins and increase their turnover. To do so, they have to compete with existing gambling operators and offer incentives such as free games or lower minimum stakes. In addition, they need to keep their costs down and attract new customers in order to stay competitive.