>How does it cost society money? When people waste money on gambling, it just recirculates to others. There is the odd case of areas where there are government

>How does it cost society money? When people waste money on gambling, it just recirculates to others. There is the odd case of areas where there are government-run gambling establishment (not uncommon here in Canada), or a lottery. That money doesn't necessarily get recirculated into the market, at least not before going through the distorting effect of being spent by the state.