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There is a huge difference between gambling and investing. Gambling involves making money with money - there is no product in between, take for example lottos, casinos, slot machines, etc. However, investing is for making a product and selling it for a profit(loss) thus generating a positive or a negative returns.

Speculation is similar to investment but there are many negative connotations involved such as bidding a price of commodities to a level that is unsustainable in the long term. One very good example is the speculation of buying crude and gold and parking them in a tanker or bunker somewhere, thus driving the prices to a high level that is unlikely to be sustainable in a long term. In a speculation cycle market entry and exit is very important.