I've also been shocked by the censoriousness around gambling in particular on HN recently. I feel like this is filtering in from some culture war that I'm not exposed to as a part of my information diet.
Hmm.. I've had some customers be gamblers. It's kind of sad to see. These are like middle aged dads of various economic classes that are desperately chasing a high when they should be focused on their families. To me, gambling and porn are yet more strains on the most important social institution: the family. It's fun, but it's bad for society, for those who care about that
If it's not gambling, it'll be something else: video games, alcohol, drugs, religion, work... Anyone can turn anything into a vice to the detriment of their family.
There's been a spate of articles on left leaning sites about the harms of prediction markets and gambling over the last 6 months or so, along with a tie to the current admin to glaze the article among anti-Trump and anti-corruption people.
One thing I've noticed about HN in recent years is if publications (right or left) start posting about something, the topic turns quickly into flamewar territory. What used to be subtle debate turns into slogans copy/pasted from these articles along with hyperbole. Hard to avoid I guess with how big HN has become.
