A lot has changed over that time and I'm not the reference for the average player. It used to be way easier and quicker to submit battles. Nowadays there are so many cards to choose along with multiple game rules which increases the time and brainpower it requires. There also used to be a sense that cards would appreciate over time which switched to now being almost sure that you will see them go down.
What it mainly comes down to is that the userbase will stay very niche and small if everyone is forced to play this much each and every day. It's just ridiculous. Players should be able to come in, spend some money, and have fun at times that they actually want to play instead of being forced not to miss out on rewards.