It's not fun if you lose. The appeal of the game is the thrill of winning.

The appeal of any competition, poker included, is the thrill that you might win. If you won every time it would be no fun at all and you would very soon quit doing it.

Go to the 2:59 minute mark where Captain Picard explains the future to Lily:

So then wagering doesn't exist either. Kind of takes the fun out of the game.

Notice that when Troi and Picard join the poker game, Riker gives them each a stack of chips without their having to pay for them.

Although I'm not much of a card player, I agree with you that without wagering for real, the game loses its meaning of risk/reward.

Why do they exist? Cribbage counts points with pegs in holes. There are a host of games that count points with pad and pencil.

I see the chips in Star Trek poker as a quaint holdover from the past, a means of point keeping no longer tied to money.

Personally, I do not get any enjoyment from gambling. Especially from games that I know are rigged to the house's benefit.

Never played it for money. Money is the whole point of poker. If the chips are worthless, what's the point?

Points are points. They can be counted many ways.

(That was intended as a compliment, by the way, and was not a joke.)

Injecting logic and common sense can get one accused of being a troll.