I know it’s late to answer that comment, but I still had to, as it really pains me to hear that, so I really hope you will read my comment.
YOU are exactly the consumer type those companies exploit financially. No wonder you were too impulsive with WoW, the whole gambling business is made around it.
I know it might not be easy to read, but at the very least try to read the abstract and the conclusion : https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26271807/
This study is from 2016, and you can bet there are other ones more recent. This is known for years, hence why in EU we have some regulations to prevent abusive behaviors.
I really hope you will read more about psychological schemes (past and present) done by gaming industry. Only by understanding it fully you would be able to escape some (yes, not all) of those schemes.
And yes, I say not all, because subconscious is too powerful. Like, you see a price at 4$99, you know in reality it’s 5$ trying to appear as 4$, but even then, your brain will still encrypt the 4$ tag. That’s how well it works, hence why EVERYTHING is always .99, even though everyone knows it’s a scheme.