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What, exactly, does it mean to "invest?" It means saving or increasing one's holdings, doesn't it?

"Trading" means giving up one thing for another of relative value.

In the stock market, one neither invests nor trades. When a share of stock is bought for a certain price, the value of the stock is as likely to fall as it is to rise. Money spent on a stock is neither invested nor traded, but wagered. A bet is being made that the stock's value will increase rather than decrase but no guarantees are made. That is why we use the term "playing the stock market."

In a casino, one buys chips, or "trades" money for them. These chips have a fixed value that neither rises or falls, no matter how much money the casino wins or loses. Unlike stocks bought in the stock market, casino chips are a true investment as long as they are not played; they can always be cashed in at the same value for which they were bought.

Putting a casino chip into a slot machine, however, is not investing, it is gambling. Stuffing money into a mattress is investing; filling up a cigar box, coffee can or cookie jar with coins or currency is investing; playing the stock market is gambling.

Why then, are stockbrokers allowed to advertise their services as "investing" or "trading?" Isn't this false advertising? Isn't it fraud? Surely the differences between investing or trading and the services that stockbrokers sell are more than mere semantics.

Why, instead, aren't stockbrokers required to secure gaming licenses just like casinos?