When a gambling addict spends money on a bet, they're actually spending that money on a moment of hope. After the bet is placed but before the cards fall, they can live in a place where there is at least a possibility that they can make enough money to escape their problems. That moment of possibility is experienced as hope, and it's a feeling that's truly addictive to the hopeless.

It's scary like all addiction, but particularly sad at its core.