>>jimbob+(OP)
So, gambling can ruin lives, sure, but the only reason lives are ruined is that money is so essential to everything in life. The problem isn't that our brains love to take risks and get immense pleasure from winning against the odds, it's that society is set up so that we can easily destroy our lives by doing otherwise harmless things that feel good. It very much reminds me of that Iain Banks quote: "Money implies poverty."
The sooner we get rid of money, the sooner people will just bet their imaginary internet points on internet gambling instead of their real life right-to-live-points, and everybody will be better off.