Randy,
I’ve launched a message board site (non gambling) and I’ve watched other people try to launch message board sites.
Like any other site, you need TRAFFIC to be successful. But if you don’t have a lot of posters, it is hard to get traffic.
If you are serious about making your message board a success, you will have to market the site just like you do your gambling portal sites. That means doing traffic exchanges, search engine optimization, even paid advertising. Once you get a lot of people coming to your message board and posting regulary, you will get more traffic by word of mouth.
It’s hard work!
So unless you want to spend a lot of time and/or money promoting it, don’t expect your message board to attract a lot of interest.
Good Luck!