This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Pokémon, sports and other physical trading and collectible cards have been around for decades but have surged in popularity since COVID. These cards are usually obtained through gambling-like packs containing random cards.
Most packs do not offer any highly desirable cards, but a few packs will. Consumers, often including children, therefore buy many packs in the hope of obtaining rare chase cards. Globally, the probabilities of obtaining rare cards from card packs are likely required to be disclosed under consumer law.
We checked 50 card packs in Hong Kong, covering various popular games and brands. Most did not disclose any probabilities for winning rare cards. Only 20% provided some probability information, while none provided the percentage chance of getting every individual card.
Our work is published in the Journal of Behavioral Addictions. There has been much more regulatory and academic scrutiny of video game loot boxes, which offer players random virtual items in exchange for money. The European Commission and the U.S.
Federal Trade Commission believe that probability disclosures are already required under consumer law for loot boxes. The same therefore applies to physical gambling-like products (like card packs and blind boxes) in the EU, the U.S. and many other jurisdictions with substantially similar consumer laws (like Hong Kong). Indeed, due to recent regulatory efforts, 60%–80% of important video game loot boxes provide probability disclosures.
Singapore is expected to adopt new laws soon to regulate card packs, including explicitly requiring probability disclosures. In many jurisdictions (for example, in Europe and North America), card packs also likely already meet the legal definition of unlicensed illegal gambling, but regulators have not proactively prosecuted companies for selling these products. Recently, "collector" card packs costing 10 times more than a usual pack and containing cards potentially worth thousands of U.S. dollars have emerged, meaning consumers are risking more money for bigger returns.
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