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  • Islamic Sharia

    Investing In Trading Card Games ( Pokemon, Topps,etc.)

    Posted by Ndricim Kojeli on September 4, 2026 at 4:06 am

    Assalamu alaikum,

    I would like to ask about the Islamic ruling regarding buying, holding, and selling sealed Pokémon products, particularly sealed booster boxes, ETBs, and sealed cases.

    To clarify my situation:

    • I genuinely collect and enjoy Pokémon products. My interest is not purely financial.

    • I purchase factory-sealed products such as booster boxes, ETBs, and sealed cases.

    • When purchasing a sealed product, I know exactly what product I am buying (for example, a sealed case from a specific Pokémon set), and the price is clearly agreed upon.

    • The contents of the individual packs are random, but the product itself has known characteristics. For example, a Pokémon booster pack contains a fixed number of cards (e.g. 10 cards), with a defined card distribution/rarity structure such as commons and rare/higher-rarity cards. What is unknown is which specific cards from the set will be inside.

    • I am not paying money specifically to gamble on obtaining one particular valuable card. I am purchasing the sealed Pokémon product itself.

    • My intention is to keep some of these sealed products for 2, 3, 4 or more years and potentially sell them later if their market value increases.

    • I believe in the long-term collectible value of Pokémon products, and historically certain sealed Pokémon products have increased substantially in value over several years.

    • I do not intend to manipulate the market, deceive buyers, or artificially inflate prices.

    For example, if I purchase a sealed Pokémon case today for €1,000 and hold it for four years, then sell it for €2,000 because the market value of that sealed product has increased, would this be permissible?

    My questions are:

    1. Is it halal to purchase sealed Pokémon products and hold them for several years as a collectible/investment, with the intention of eventually reselling them at a higher market price?

    2. Does the randomness of the cards inside the sealed packs constitute gharar (excessive uncertainty) or maysir/qimar (gambling)?

    In particular, does it make a difference that I am purchasing a clearly identified sealed product, whose general contents and composition are known, while only the exact individual cards are unknown?

    3. Is there a difference between:

    • buying sealed products and holding them for future resale;

    • buying a sealed pack and opening it hoping to obtain a valuable card; and

    • selling sealed packs/products to customers?

    4. Would it be permissible to open a physical or online store selling Topps products such as sealed boxes and sealed cases?

    If selling these products is permissible, would the randomness of the cards inside the packs affect the ruling for the seller, even if the seller knows that the buyer does not know which specific cards they will receive?

    I would particularly appreciate answers based on Qur’an, Sunnah, established fiqh principles regarding gharar and maysir, and, if possible, references to recognised scholars or Islamic jurisprudence councils.

    JazakAllahu khayran.

    Dr. Irfan Shahzad replied 5 days, 6 hours ago 2 Members · 1 Reply
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