Gambling/GRODT is a fake version of class mobility. When your society isn't willing to afford actual class mobility, you'll get these facsimiles of it instead.

Gambling/GRODT is a fake version of class mobility. When your society isn't willing to afford actual class mobility, you'll get these facsimiles of it instead. A person's urge to climb still exists, but there are very few ladders available to them, so various other schemes are used to scratch the itch. The harder it is to climb the ladder, the more vulnerable an individual is to "invest" in the various schemes, and the more profitable orchestrating the schemes becomes. It's a blatant signal that your society is stalling and cannot produce actual value.