Casino gambling has been a hot source of debate among people coming from various religious and economic backgrounds.
Religious authorities generally frown on casino gambling because of its perceived social costs. This is why in highly religious countries, casino gambling (or any sort of gambling)is not allowed. Most Islamic nations specifically prohibit gambling while other nations tend to regulate it to some extent.
Most legal authorities also put some sort of censorship on gambling. The law does not recognize wagers as contracts and views consequent losses as debts of honor that cannot be enforced through the legal process. This leads to organized crime taking over the enforcement of large gambling debts, sometimes in a violent manner.
Since contracts of insurance have many features similar to wagers, legislation makes a distinction between the two. It typically defines any agreement wherein either of the party has an interest in the outcome of the bet beyond the specified financial terms as an insurance contract. So the bet on whether ones house will burn down becomes a contract of insurance, since a person has an independent interest in the...