I think you've missed something important: none of these elements in Balatro are monetized. The only way the developer makes more money is through players telling other players how fun the game is, which convinces them to buy it.
I wonder if we've collectively been trained to perceive addictiveness as fun. It's good that the developer isn't being directly monetizing eyeball-hours, but when users have grown to expect that specific dopamine hit that proves addictive, you end up having to include it anyway.
Monetization doesn't really affect addiction, which was the question at hand.
Key things Balatro does not have, that make it a poor example of the problem of addictive games:
1. Monetization. See above.
2. Anything timed. At all. No hourly, daily, weekly, or monthly anything. Nothing that tries to coerce you into reopening the app, aside from "I want to play Balatro now".
3. Lootbox cosmetics. All cosmetics are deterministic. All unlocks are part of gameplay. The collection tracker is dependent on obtaining items (mostly cards) at random, but is focused on the challenge aspect to diversify gameplay: rather than "can you get these cards" it asks "can you win with these cards".
Balatro does belong in a nuanced discussion of how we often conflate addictiveness and fun, and how that presents itself in media and games, but that's not because it's a particularly egregious example of weaponizing addiction.
Perhaps it was too overt?
I think there is a fine line here between the cynicist 'never indulge' and the consoomer/accelerationist 'do as you will'
It's like praising Coca-Cola for not tasting as sweet as Pepsi