dead spin tax

i keep seeing folks talk about this “dead spin tax” on slot forums, like it’s some built-in penalty when you hit a cold streak. obviously rtp is baked in, but sometimes it really does feel like you’re paying extra just for playing when you get those long runs without a feature. i know variance is a thing, but i’m starting to wonder if certain game designs actually do tax you more on the dead spins, like subtle math tweaks to stretch your wallet. do you guys think this is just gambler’s fallacy, or is there some truth to the idea of a dead spin tax?