[fennecfoxen]

I'll go a step back from that to something simpler:

You can use the stock market to make money. You can't use the stock market to make free money.

There's a number of different ways to pay for your money. You can pay for it by doing intensive in-depth research and figuring out undervalued stocks. You can pay for it in cash up front (buying a bond or index fund) and make it back over time while other people do the work (your returns will be lower). You can pay for it by taking crazy risks with your money, hoping the market will swing in your favor (not necessarily gambling if you accurately understand the risks involved and don't overpay for risky assets).

It's just like a lot of other business, when you get down to it, except the really crazy risks are easier to find and harder to analyze.