Re #3: I have heard of data at three companies, and anecdotes at more, that their whales are mostly upper middle class players who play games instead of a more traditional hobby like e.g. golf. This was against my prior expectations -- I thought "probably Vegas slot demographic of pensioners and/or people w/ depression or similar" -- but despite being skeptical of company PR I have to admit there might be something there.

It matters -- if games just push the buttons of bored engineers/doctors/business owners well and they spend a few hundred bucks a month on them, well, I'll never buy a Hamilton ticket but I won't look down on anyone buying or selling them. If OTOH the entire social industry is exploitative and propped up by vulnerable people then that changes things.

A presentation to read if you're interested in this topic: http://www.slideshare.net/emily_greer/dont-call-them-whales-...