I generally only make personal bets when I can influence the outcome directly. Poker comes to mind.
In the late 70's, I did pay my spring semester of college tuition for my junior year with money I earned shooting pool in bars that fall.
Then again, that wasn't really gambling. It was perhaps a form of larceny.
Betting on football is rather lame. It impairs one's perspective of the game, as one is so consumed by the bet that one often fails to observe what is truly happening in the game.
I don't bet on too many individual stocks in the market, either, preferring to bet on the market as a whole, or segments of the market only.