> to tie that dopamine release to giving away money predicated on deception (specifically, both by not disclosing actual odds, and by lying about them)

So just like loot boxes in video games.

> A slot game that requires no money to play isn't a problem

So similarly you should only be playing opensource and freeware video games that aren't designed to extract money from you.

Which is why people have specific problems with loot boxes, yes. But most video games don't have loot boxes.

> So similarly you should only be playing opensource and freeware video games that aren't designed to extract money from you.

"Paying to purchase a game", and "paying to wager money on or in a game" are 2 different things.

I'd also have no issue with someone buying an actual slot machine to sit in their house, so they put in money but also keep the money they put in. But people don't do that because they're not playing for the gameplay, they're playing for the gamble.