Imagine if the government made online gambling legal and charged taxes on the winnings. Imagine the billions of dollars the government would get from it and what good it could do for the economy right now. Its a no-brainer.
You bring up some good points, I see it from another point of view now. An experienced big shot gambler can probably play a black jack table, like a professional investor plays the market. I have experience short selling, and do it on a regular basis. It is risky, but I feel more in control over my assets when I can visually see everything. I hate losing, and I'm competitive by nature, the whole "game" aspect of gambling will pull me in, so I'll stay away from it.
I made fake money in my virtual trading account short selling the xlf recently(covered before the rallies, obviously). Anyway, I look at trading stocks as sort of like blackjack, but where you're allowed to count cards. The main problem with casino gambling is that the house stacks the odds against you too much, and as with blackjack, you're not even allowed to use your talents or intelligence.
Blackjack's for those that are willing to let their income depend on the turn of a card. Poker on the other hand doesnt have house odds against you, and skill does have a role. Either way making the stock market legal and gambling a crime is a bit at odds with logic.
Poker's probably a better example of not having the odds so artificially stacked against you. But the MIT team showed through science that you can win at blackjack by using scientific theory and brain power. The problem is, once the pit boss notices you are using your brains and not relying solely on the odds(actually you are still relying on the odds, you have just mastered them), they throw you out.