A gamble isn't necessarily an investment but an investment is always a gamble.
Investments are money that is put to work. A car can be an investment if you have to buy it to earn money (e.g. to get to work, or use it as a taxi). Otherwise it's just a cost. I'd see gambling as a cost for most people, there is obviously a desire to make a return but few can really believe that it is likely to be a retirement plan.
Speculating on a share price is a bit harder to analyse but arguably a price will only rise in the expectation of future earnings so it's still an investment in my opinion, even if it is an ill-judged one. As an owner of shares you become entitled to future income from the profits of the company employing the capital and that includes a premium for the expectation of those returns.
Money under the bed is not an investment. Gold is not an investment, just a store of money in a different form that provides some diversification in periods of volatility.
I think I see this fairly clearly, whether the model in my head is right or not. I'm convinced many don't. They behave as if they become better off by buying stuff - expensive clothes, new cars every 2 or 3 years, nice restaurants. That's just spending to me and whilst I do it sometimes I am very aware that I am making myself poorer, not richer. "Pay yourself first" means before spending money, put something to one side, ideally invested rather than under the mattress. I can attest that this doesn't necessarily make one rich but it does mean having more choice in the future and being able perhaps to do some good, maybe for one's children.
Gambling is spending and people who see it that way generally don't do it, or if they do it's in a very limited way and maybe to a small budget or tied to a social occasion (without getting into the very serious problem of addiction which is nothing to do with rational behaviour).
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