pay-to-play

English

pay-to-play (not comparable)

(politics, business, of a politician, political party, businessperson, academician, etc) Accepting donations or favors in exchange for favors; corrupt.
Near-synonym: quid pro quo (attributively)
- 2004, Larry N. Gerston, Terry Christensen, Recall!: California's Political Earthquake‎^[1]:
  Davis's pay-to-play reputation, demanding donations before he would consider policies or appointments favorable to the potential donors, was used against him.
(video games, of an online game) Requiring payment from the player.
Antonyms: free-to-play, free

Hyponyms: buy-to-play (one-time fee); subscription (attributively; recurring fee)

Near-synonym: paywalled
- 2024 March 14, Georgina Lawton, “I’m not surprised people are suing a dating app company – our addiction to swiping makes us miserable”, in The Guardian‎^[2], →ISSN:
  As the lawsuit claims, we’re being programmed to constantly seek a dopamine hit from each swipe in what it calls a “pay-to-play” loop.