Buying packs at a shop
On paper, a booster pack looks a lot like a lottery ticket. You pay, the cards are random, and a rare card can be worth hundreds of times what you paid. Courts haven’t seen it that way, though. In 1999 parents sued Nintendo and the card makers, arguing that Pokémon packs were illegal gambling. The case was folded into a wider lawsuit over trading cards, and in 2002 a federal appeals court dismissed it because buyers got what they paid for, a pack of cards with a chance at a rare one. It never actually decided the gambling question, and no regulator has called ordinary packs gambling since.
There’s something to that. You always get usable cards, and most people buy packs to collect and play, not to make money.
Online pack opening and buybacks
Sites now sell digital packs linked to real cards kept in a vault, and many let you sell a card straight back for cash. The boss of one of these sites told Barron’s that up to 98% of the cards opened are sold straight back. At that point you’re paying for a random result and taking cash out, which is very close to the three-part test for gambling. Nobody has ruled on it yet, but New York’s attorney general is already suing Valve on the same cash-out argument over Counter-Strike cases, and a New York bill would ban instant buybacks.
Card breaks are being challenged too. In a break, you pay for a “spot” and get whatever cards from a group opening match it. In 2026 a lawyer filed arbitration claims against Whatnot, arguing that breaks are illegal lotteries under California law.
What the research says
A 2025 study of 1,961 card game players in six countries found that spending on physical packs was linked to problem gambling, though much more weakly than spending on video game loot boxes. Another study looked at 50 physical packs sold in Hong Kong and found that 80% didn’t show any odds.
What it means for you
Opening packs for fun is a hobby, not gambling. Be more careful with sites that let you sell cards straight back for cash, because that’s the part that works like a slot machine. If you’re buying packs mainly to flip the rare ones, keep a tally of what you’ve spent against what you’ve sold. Most people who do that are surprised.
Questions people also ask
Was Pokémon ever sued for gambling?
Yes, in 1999. The case was folded into a wider suit over trading cards and dismissed, and the appeals court upheld that in 2002. It never actually ruled on whether packs are gambling.
Are online pack-opening sites legal?
They're a grey area. No court or regulator has ruled on them yet, but a New York bill would ban instant buybacks of random items.
Are card breaks gambling?
That's being argued right now. In 2026 a lawyer filed arbitration claims against Whatnot arguing that breaks are illegal lotteries under California law. They're unresolved.
Does Pokémon publish pack odds?
Most physical packs don't. A 2026 study of 50 packs found 80% gave no odds at all.
Sources
- Chaset v. Fleer/Skybox International, 300 F.3d 1083 (9th Cir. 2002)
- Seattle Times, Pokémon lawsuit filed (1999)
- ESPN, Could box breaking be considered gambling? (2026)
- New York Assembly bill A9044, Prohibition of Instant Payout Loot Boxes
- Gambling Insider, digital trading card boom raises gambling questions
- University of Bristol, Physical card pack and video game loot box spending study (2025)
- Lo, Xiong and Xiao (2026), odds disclosure on physical card packs, Journal of Behavioral Addictions