Santa Ana police confirm nearly $1 million in sports and Pokémon cards were stolen from a FedEx truck, as digital card ripping and box breaks face growing questions over gambling regulation.
Nearly $1 million worth of trading cards has been stolen from a FedEx truck in Southern California, putting a spotlight on the sums now changing hands in the collectibles market. The theft also comes as trading cards find a new audience through digital ripping platforms and gambling-style products.
The Santa Ana Police Department confirmed to Gambling Insider that the theft took place on Oct. 13, at 1610 E. St. Andrew Place, where an officer responded to Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA) following reports of stolen trading cards.
“Approximately two pallets were stolen, and a third pallet was disturbed,” the department told Gambling Insider. “The pallets contained various trading cards, including, but not limited to, sports cards and Pokémon cards.”
“As of right now I just appreciate everyone’s willingness to help spread the word and to keep an eye out for the cards that were stolen.” – SKY-B
Police said the estimated value of the stolen cards at the time of the incident was $963,000, although the exact figure has yet to be determined. “The investigation remains ongoing,” the department added, encouraging anyone with information to contact authorities.
Trading cards have come a long way from being swapped in school playgrounds, with rare editions now commanding eye-watering prices. The growing market has also caught the attention of gambling companies, some of which are moving into digital card products built around randomized outcomes.
Collector Loses 104 Cards Worth Over $100K
One of the collectors caught up in the theft was content creator SKY-B, who took to X on October 17 after learning that his entire 104-card PSA submission had disappeared. “PSA just emailed me letting me know that FedEx STOLE my 104 card submission. Over $100,000 in cards just gone,” he wrote, with the post attracting approximately 1.9 million views.
“We will compensate you for the items from your order that were involved, which is based on fair market value up to the Maximum Insured Value (“MIV”) you selected for each item.” @natsturner, I pray you handle this and take care of everyone affected in the most professional… pic.twitter.com/2U3zp6lYR5
— SKY-B (@SKYBCards) October 17, 2026
In a subsequent YouTube video, SKY-B explained that he had personally handed the cards to PSA representatives at the National Sports Collectors Convention in July. He said the collection had taken two years to build, with more than $8,000 spent on grading fees and a combined maximum insured value of $156,000.
The missing cards included rare autographs, limited-edition collectibles and several one-of-one cards featuring athletes such as LeBron James and Barry Sanders. “There are many irreplaceable cards in here that I will never see again,” he said, adding that the loss had left him financially devastated.
Speaking directly to Gambling Insider, SKY-B confirmed that he had yet to receive any further updates from PSA regarding the stolen collection or potential compensation. For now, his priority is raising awareness and encouraging fellow collectors to look out for the missing cards.
“As of right now I just appreciate everyone’s willingness to help spread the word and to keep an eye out for the cards that were stolen,” he told Gambling Insider, pointing to the YouTube video.
“I’ll be keeping everyone updated as I’m updated 100%,” he added.
For collectors, the loss of a one-of-one card is particularly difficult to put a price on. Even if the money is eventually recovered, finding an identical replacement is, by definition, out of the question.
Card Breaks and Randomized Packs Face Gambling Scrutiny
The theft comes as the trading card business faces scrutiny over products that bear more than a passing resemblance to gambling. Livestreamed box breaks, digital pack openings and randomized card purchases have become increasingly popular, with customers paying for the chance to land rare and potentially valuable cards.
Box breaks typically involve customers buying a team, slot or share of an unopened box of trading cards, which is then opened on a livestream. Depending on the cards revealed, participants might walk away with something worth considerably more than they paid, or find themselves with a rather expensive collection of commons.
The gambling comparisons are not entirely new, although the growth of online platforms has brought fresh attention to the issue. Speaking to Gambling Insider earlier this month, Leon Y. Xiao, Assistant Professor at City University of Hong Kong and Visiting Research Fellow at King’s College London, argued that trading card packs should already fall under existing gambling legislation in many jurisdictions.
“Card packs should constitute gambling under both the common-sense definition and the legal definition, but regulators are not enforcing gambling law properly,” Xiao told us. He argued that card packs remain largely outside gambling regulation despite involving money, randomized outcomes and potentially valuable prizes.
His research examined 50 physical trading card and collectible sports card packs in Hong Kong, finding that 80% provided no probability disclosures. The remaining 20% offered incomplete information, raising questions about how much buyers actually know about their chances of pulling valuable cards.
Xiao also pointed to card breaks and repacks as potentially riskier products, given the larger sums customers can spend chasing valuable collectibles. “One may argue that card breaking and repacks are riskier because more money is risked than with normal packs and so the potential harm is greater,” he said.
PrizePicks and Fanatics Expand Into Trading Cards
The crossover is becoming harder to miss, with businesses already established in sports gaming moving into the collectibles space. PrizePicks recently launched PrizePicks Packs, a digital trading card product allowing customers to open randomized packs containing physical cards, which they can either keep or sell back.
Fanatics is another prominent example, operating across both sports betting and trading cards through businesses including Fanatics Sportsbook and Fanatics Live. The latter offers livestreamed card breaks, bringing the experience of opening trading card products to an online audience.
However, the legal position of these products is far from settled. A California lawsuit has challenged whether certain card-breaking activities amount to illegal lotteries, although the companies involved dispute the characterization of their products as gambling.
Not every trading card purchase is gambling, and the rules differ depending on the jurisdiction and how a product operates. Still, when customers are spending money on randomized outcomes in the hope of receiving something valuable, it is easy to see why the sector has attracted attention.
There is no indication that the cards stolen in California were intended for digital ripping platforms or box breaks. Their reported value does, however, offer some perspective on the money involved in the wider collectibles market, particularly as more gaming businesses look to enter it.
PSA Caps Compensation at Declared Insurance Values
For those whose cards were stolen, the more immediate concern is whether they will see their collections again, or at least receive adequate compensation. In an email shared publicly by SKY-B, PSA confirmed that a FedEx vehicle carrying customer orders had been burglarized after leaving its Southern California facility.
“While your items were not in our possession at the time of the burglary, we take our role in helping secure your items seriously,” PSA wrote. The company also explained that compensation would be calculated using fair market value, capped at the maximum insured value selected for each card.
That has not gone down particularly well with SKY-B, who said several of his cards were worth more than their individual $1,500 insurance limits. “I have an awful feeling PSA is going to be extremely unfair on what the values of these cards are,” he wrote on X, raising concerns about how the company would assess some of his rarer items.
PSA said it had deactivated the certification numbers of stolen cards and alerted digital marketplaces, auction houses and other selling platforms to help identify them if they surfaced for sale. The company also confirmed it was working with FedEx and law enforcement, while reviewing its shipping procedures to see whether further safeguards were needed.
PSA officially confirms the theft of graded items from a “third-party shipping vehicle.”
They say all certs for the stolen items have been deactivated.
They will not say how many cards or how much $.
Reports from @BosCardHunter and others say the value is in the millions. 😳😔
— Geoff Wilson (@itsgeoffwilson) October 19, 2026
In a separate public statement, PSA’s parent company, Collectors, acknowledged that the cards held more than financial value for many of those affected. “Our team is focused on supporting them,” it said, adding that it would continue working with law enforcement to hold those responsible accountable.
When approached by Gambling Insider for further details, PSA referred to its existing statement and declined to comment further. “At this point in the investigation, we will not be expanding further,” a spokesperson said. For now, affected collectors are left waiting for answers, while police continue investigating a theft valued at almost $1 million.
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