There is fee you must pay to start the game, same with coin operated arcade machines. It is not betting/gambling per se.

Every game is different some games can be exploited by bots easier than others. I will give you an example of DoA bot which is coded to take advantage of game mechanic:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_QypmRf5Yzo I guess there is a way to defeat this bot somehow, but ordinary players wouldn't be able to do that. That is exactly my concern.