You make good points. But, I'm not convinced, from an ethical point of view, that casino actions are in any way relevant. The casinos have every right to make a game unbeatable. Just as lotteries are nearly always unbeatable. Of course, it is blindingly stupid for casinos to make games unbeatable. Thorp did more for casinos than billions in goofy advertisements. The mere fact that BJ can be beaten has convinced millions of visitors to spend billions of dollars, even though they usually know they personally don't have an edge, simply because an edge can exist. No one will ever know how many "real" jobs have been created by the discovery of card counting.
Yes, casinos try to convince you that gambling is good and ply you with free liquor. And car companies try to convince you that you MUST have a new car to keep up with the Joneses even though your old car works perfectly well, and there exist 43 types of toothpaste that are all gentle abrasives, and how many companies sell WATER (which falls out of the sky), and on and on. What matters from an ethical viewpoint is your own actions.
Note: This is just a general opinion on the subject, unrelated to my opinions of HC.