The new way the gumball machine works is definitely balanced, and can't be exploited at all.
Impossible to lose is a bit of a stretch lol, it has a 0.2x score multiplier, you need 5 of them to match the power of a single metal ball and might even hinder you if it hits something like a cookie / balloon for example. All of those gumballs combined equate to about 5 extra regular metal balls, you can literally get that with a few eggs + chickens and you had to wait however many levels with 2 gumball machines to get that many. Not saying its weak but thats not what I was claiming in the first place, compared to the old version its much more balanced as you cant fill the screen with infinite gumballs as easily.