AFAIK, The only place ‘gambling’ is even mentioned in the Bible, is in the New Testament, where the Roman soldiers gambled to see who got Jesus’ robe, and that was to preserve it whole.................
1. you are correct. There was would have been superficially fair to distribute the robe by dividing it, so they had a fair game of chance, to preserve its value.
2. Here is another similar instance: Joshua then cast lots for them in Shiloh in the presence of the LORD, and there he distributed the land to the Israelites according to their tribal divisions. Joshua 18:10. This fulfilled Number 26:55. This demonstrates that a fair game of chance is acceptable to God for allotting things that are not divisible.
The larger point is that chance, good and bad luck, are part of life. Also, that you don’t want to be stupid about fairness. Don’t destroy value to be fair.
With this in mind, we can appreciate the trick of Solomon in proposing to cut the baby in two in order to be fair to the two women each claiming to be the baby’s mother. He only made the proposition to have the real mother reveal herself.
Having said these things, there is such a thing as gambling addiction. While most people can gamble in moderation, and do so as part of a productive and happy life, there are some who essentially make gambling into a false god.
Well, Elijah kind of made a “bet” with the prophets of Baal in the Old Testament. Of course he knew that his God would win, so it wasn’t much of a gamble.
Drawing lots was often seen as gambling as well in ancient times. But it also was used as a form of Cleromancy. (Acts of the Apostles 1:23–26).