I disagree that investing in the stock market is gambling with the caveat that many people treat it like gambling.

What I mean is that boring, defensive trading is a fairly predictable thing. Boring, stable and mature companies are typically safe investments that do grow over time and are a good way to protect yourself against inflation.

The issue is people want to maximize returns, even if expectations are unrealistic, and make risky gambles at unwarranted expected returns. Look at a company's profit, expenses, history and dont expect the future to be ideal for big returns.