I think it's even more nefarious to have games that /don't/ resemble gambling but utilize the same psychological tricks.
I got taken by legend Richard Garriott on a slippery slide of feeling like I was supporting a historic studio, making digital investments, holding onto key digital real estate, and being part of an exclusive gaming club, all while being coerced into 5 payments per month and incessantly repeating the same in game activities for hours per day. It took 8k for me to never trust game developers ever again. I can't even buy battle passes without feeling like a sucker now.
I got taken by legend Richard Garriott on a slippery slide of feeling like I was supporting a historic studio, making digital investments, holding onto key digital real estate, and being part of an exclusive gaming club, all while being coerced into 5 payments per month and incessantly repeating the same in game activities for hours per day. It took 8k for me to never trust game developers ever again. I can't even buy battle passes without feeling like a sucker now.