You quite certainly did not sit in front of the supermarket's cash register with your mom's credit card shoving packs of cards over the counter for hours on end

You quite certainly did not sit in front of the supermarket's cash register with your mom's credit card shoving packs of cards over the counter for hours on end. The overall physicality of the process back in the day prevented the feedback loops to manifest. The lack of speed decoupled spending from gratification thus ensuring your behavior wouldn't devolve into a bonafide gambling addiction.