card-playing vs gambling

card-playing is not a noun while gambling is a noun.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
card-playing	No	Yes	No	No
gambling	Yes	Yes	No	No

As adjectives, card-playing and gambling are synonyms defined as:

card-playing and gambling: preoccupied with the pursuit of pleasure and especially games of chance

Other synonyms of card-playing include betting, dissipated, sporting.

card-playing (noun)	gambling (noun)
	the act of playing for stakes in the hope of winning (including the payment of a price for a chance to win a prize)

card-playing (adjective)	gambling (adjective)
preoccupied with the pursuit of pleasure and especially games of chance	preoccupied with the pursuit of pleasure and especially games of chance