30 years ago when I became old enough to be allowed into gambling
establishments I played all sorts of games, poker, 21, poker machines,
one arm bandits. I remember the atmosphere in the "clubs", the sound
if the machines, the multicoloured lights, the sound of coins being
paid out, the cigarette smoke, the sticky carpet, the chat, the laughter
and the giving out as people went bust.
Today its a different scene or there is no scene. I visited a club last
night while out socialising and it was dead to the point where I wonder
how the club is able to stay open.
Since the creation of smartphones gambling is now 24/7, 365 days a year
Its so easy and convenient anyone can get involved and everyone is
targeted.
But that was just one location. Over 40 million people visit Las Vegas each year, spending over spending $35 billion ($827 each on average). If there were no attractions no one would go there. Online gambling is a huge industry and it is growing, but land based casinos still have much higher volume than online ones.
Regarding "everyone is targeted", it's been always like that. Those who wanted to gamble would find a way to do so before the invention of the Internet. And, on the other hand, if you don't want to gamble you can just ignore all those gambling ads you can see while being online these days and stay away from it.