“We’ve spent 30 years underperforming and manipulating our customers to get where we are today! We’re not about to let some noob take a slice of our pie just because they came up with this wacky idea of a ‘Fun game that’s reasonably priced!’”

I think that's a bit farfetched. I don't think any AAA dinosaur feels threatened by Balatro, and if we talk specifically about sports games Balatro is not a threat because that genre has formed its own thick bubble that Balatro could never penetrate.

The more obvious reason is probably true, lawmakers are simply too stupid to tell the difference between using gambling motiffs and actual gambling.

No. It is because Balatro actually had playing cards and pretended it was poker. Its similar to how so many older games could have your character popping meth near constantly but it is fine because it isn’t tobacco.

That said: I really do wish we would have a proper reckoning. I love Balatro. It very much takes the skinner box and slot machine mechanics to an all new level. So does Vampire Survivors. And if you ask most millennial gamers, we’ll have stories about how we almost flunked out of college because of Diablo or WoW and the like.

The gacha games and ultimate team and all that very much exploit the same concepts but with a goal of milking every single penny out of their consumerbase. But time is often just as important (and most of said milking comes from people realizing they have no time to spare) and it is important people realize that.