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Is There A Difference Between Gambling And Sportsbetting?

I have not really thought about this question – until now, that is. I was reading some general articles on gambling when I ran across one titled “The Difference Between Gambling and Sports Betting.“ In my mind, I was thinking “Is there really a difference?” The article emphasizes this point:

There is a difference in gambling and betting in sports. In gambling, you are putting your money at risk without any basis at all while in betting in sports, you have at least or ideally should have an idea on which team is performing better based on reports, past game results or player’s performance which can serve as your basis in betting.

In effect, the writer is saying that when you gamble, you have no basis. You have no rationale. It is all luck. To a certain degree, this could be true. There are certain gambling activities that you simply have to rely on chance, on probability. One example would be the toss of a coin. Then again, there are table games which you can find in casinos – such as poker, blackjack, and the like – which are not purely chance-oriented. Yet these are also covered by the term gambling.

So what is the real deal? Is there really a difference between gambling and sportsbetting?

I think the answer would depend on how you define gambling. Merriam-Webster gives the following definitions:

1 a: to play a game for money or property b: to bet on an uncertain outcome

2: to stake something on a contingency : take a chance

I would have to say that sportsbetting would fall under both definitions. I would then have to say that there really isn’t much of a difference at all. And even if there was, does it really matter?