What is meant by saying "their sin is greater than their benefit"?

Imām Ibn al-Jawzī (d. 597/1201) summarized the scholars' opinions in his book "Zād al-Masīr" as follows:

1. The meaning is that their sin after prohibition is greater than their benefit before prohibition. [Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, al-Ḍaḥḥāk, Muqātil].
2. Their sin before prohibition was also greater than their benefit before prohibition, because the sins that came about due to drinking and gambling were greater than their benefits. [Also from Ibn Jubayr]