The real question is, do payday loan places exist to provide solutions to a multitude of people with difficult financial issues, or do they exist to prey on a specific subset of people who should not be taking payday loans?

The defenders of these loans would argue the former. I see this as being closer to mobile gaming existing due to a small subset of people with a gambling addiction who will fork out 20k on a click game.

Likewise, the people taking out these loans are vulnerable due to their specific circumstances. A payday loan isn't going to help the majority of that group anyore than a mobile game is going to help a gambling addict just enjoy a relaxing game on their phone.