[Not devonin]

I don't think anybody currently views Pro Chess as anything like Gambling, and it's probably considered one of the peak pure skill pursuits to which one could apply themselves (I'd say Go, but it has less global appeal by an order of magnitude)

There's been a strong push in the last 5-8 years to bring eSports into the same sphere as traditional sports, and a lot of them have plenty of similarities and with marketing and budgets behind them, they've definitely become a legitimate career path for people who have the facility with them.