Something not mentioned in the article is that both gambling and insurance can be regulated, or unregulated industries. Most familiar forms of mainstream insur

Something not mentioned in the article is that both gambling and insurance can be regulated, or unregulated industries. Most familiar forms of mainstream insurance (car, home, health, etc) are actually regulated financial services. Likewise, legal casinos in most states of the US. The quality and transparency of the service depends a lot on the quality and enforcement of regulation. It does seem to me that insurance involves "collateral" in the sense that you insure things that actually exist. This would seem to place a limit on what people are willing to pay for insurance.