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Randomness has been part of trading cards for generations.

A collector purchasing a traditional sealed pack does not know which players, parallels, inserts, autographs or other cards will be inside. Some cards may be common. Others may be exceptionally rare.

The cards may also have dramatically different values in the secondary market.

None of those characteristics changes the fundamental nature of the transaction:

The consumer is purchasing a collectible product.

The same principle applies to a properly structured repack.

The collector pays for a collectible and receives ownership of a collectible. What is unknown at the time of purchase is the identity of that collectible.

That is materially different from placing money at risk on the outcome of an uncertain event.

Trading cards have secondary-market value. So do comic books, sneakers, watches, artwork, memorabilia and countless other collectible products.

The fact that a consumer may later sell an item does not transform the original retail transaction into a wager.

Likewise, the fact that one collectible may ultimately be worth more or less than another does not fundamentally change what was purchased.

Consider a collector who purchases a $100 box of trading cards and later determines that the individual cards could be sold for $40. It would be misleading to automatically characterize that collector as having "lost $60" in the same manner as someone who lost a $60 wager.

The collector purchased cards. They purchased the experience of opening them. They may have purchased entertainment, nostalgia, discovery, the opportunity to build a collection, or simply the enjoyment of participating in the hobby.

Secondary-market value is a characteristic of collectibles. It is not, by itself, a gambling payout.

Technology is changing how collectors discover, purchase, store, trade and sell cards.

A physical wrapper is not what makes a trading card a collectible.

Digital reveal technology, vaulting, online marketplaces and the ability to sell or trade a card after acquiring it are modern methods of facilitating collectible commerce.

The fundamental question remains straightforward: Did the consumer purchase and receive ownership of a collectible?

If so, the fact that technology determined which collectible was received or facilitated its subsequent storage, shipment or resale does not, in CTCA's view, automatically transform that purchase into gambling.

Defending collecting does not mean ignoring consumer behavior.

CTCA believes the industry has a responsibility to promote healthy and sustainable participation regardless of whether the product being purchased is a traditional hobby box, a break, a repack, a digital collectible experience or another form of collectible commerce.

Rapid repeat purchasing, highly stimulating reveal experiences, immediate resale functionality and marketing focused heavily on financial outcomes can influence consumer behavior. Those issues deserve thoughtful consideration.

But concerns about how a product is designed, marketed or consumed should not automatically redefine what the underlying product is.

A collectible product can create unhealthy purchasing behavior without becoming a gambling product.

The appropriate response is responsible-product design, consumer education, transparency and safeguards, not the automatic reclassification of collecting as gambling.

CTCA believes the industry has an especially important responsibility when younger collectors are involved.

Trading cards have introduced generations of children to sports, history, statistics, characters, collecting, trading, organization and community. That is something worth protecting.

Companies offering randomized collectible experiences should carefully consider age-appropriate access, marketing, parental involvement and responsible-participation safeguards.

The goal should not be to remove excitement from collecting. It should be to make sure the next generation experiences the hobby as exactly that: a hobby.

CTCA supports innovation throughout the trading card ecosystem. We also believe innovation should be accompanied by transparency and responsibility.

Companies offering randomized collectible products should embrace practices including clear product information, accurate representations of value, transparent fees, genuine ownership of collectibles, reasonable access to physical delivery where applicable, protections for younger participants, responsible marketing and tools that encourage informed purchasing decisions.

These are good practices because they strengthen consumer trust. They should not require the trading card industry to accept the premise that randomized collectibles are inherently gambling.

CTCA launched #CardsAreCollecting around a simple idea: Trading cards should be understood first and foremost for what they are—collectibles.

Collectors buy cards for countless reasons. They build sets. They collect favorite players and teams. They preserve history. They trade with friends. They attend shows. They share the hobby with their children. They hunt for rare cards. And yes, sometimes they enjoy the excitement of not knowing what card they are about to discover.

That excitement does not erase everything else that makes collecting a hobby. Nor should the existence of a robust secondary market redefine every randomized collectible purchase as a financial wager.

CTCA believes the distinction is clear: A wager places money at risk on an uncertain outcome. A randomized collectible purchase results in ownership of a collectible whose identity is initially unknown. Those are not the same transaction.

The trading card industry should remain vigilant about responsible participation, consumer protection and the ways emerging technology influences collector behavior. CTCA intends to continue advocating for those protections.

But we should be equally vigilant about allowing the language of gambling to become a catch-all description for collecting simply because collecting can involve chance, excitement, rarity and secondary-market value.

Chance does not define gambling. Resale value does not define gambling. Excitement does not define gambling.

Collecting is collecting.

As the hobby evolves, CTCA will continue working with collectors and industry stakeholders to promote transparency, responsibility, trust and sustainable growth while protecting what has made trading cards meaningful for generations.

Cards are collecting.