Card rips
$2B annual sales pace at one platform
Digital rips sell a randomly drawn, graded physical card revealed online, usually with an instant buyback. Courtyard alone says it's on pace for $2 billion a year. Sports betting and fantasy brands are moving in.
The map
National today, unsettled tomorrow.
Rips are treated as e-commerce in every state for now. Some operators already exclude Nevada, and at least one runs a sweepstakes structure with a free entry route. State attorneys general will decide where this lands.
The read
What matters in this market.
The gaming brands arrived this year
Fanatics sells rips through its collectibles arm. Underdog and PrizePicks have launched or announced rips. FanDuel is testing rewards credits with Arena Club, and DraftKings is linked to Rips by Triumph.
The legal question is open
Whatnot faced 15 arbitration claims in March 2026 alleging unlawful gambling over breaks and repacks. Randomized purchase plus instant buyback is the fact pattern regulators are watching.
Adult audiences only
Critics call rips slot machines for kids. Any TV plan we build buys adult-skewed programming, excludes youth and family dayparts, and documents audience composition.
Payback decides the budget
Retention is thin: about 2% of Courtyard users and 9.8% of Collector Crypt users were still active a year after their first rip. We model lifetime value before recommending a dollar of TV.
Who's in the market
| Platform | Model | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Courtyard | Tokenized vault, 90% buyback | Largest stated sales pace |
| Arena Club | Graded cards, insured vault | Co-founded by Derek Jeter; NFL, NBA and MLB club deals |
| Fanatics Collect | Rips inside a collectibles marketplace | Owns Topps |
| Rips by Triumph | Cash buyback at fair market value | Linked to DraftKings; excludes Nevada |
| Underdog, PrizePicks | Rips added to fantasy and prediction apps | Cross-sell to existing users |
Why TV here
Built for this category.
Live sport is where collectors watch
Sports cards drive the category, and the audience overlaps heavily with live-sport viewers. Planned adult-only, that inventory converts.
Classification before media
Before we buy, we classify the product. Cash buyback plus a free entry route can make it a sweepstakes product in a regulator's eyes, and that changes which states and networks are in play.
The media
What you can reach.
How it's bought
Four routes in. Two are yours.
Most US networks need a US-registered entity, US credit or a US agency of record (AOR) before they'll take an order. Element Media Direct is a US company and can be that AOR.
| Route | Timing | Read |
|---|---|---|
| The upfront | 12 to 18 months ahead | Big annual commitments. The wrong door for a market entrant. |
| Scatter | 2 to 13 weeks ahead | Your linear entry. Flexible, market-priced, includes local DMA buys. |
| Programmatic CTV | Days | Fastest way in. Geo-fencing built in. Minimums around $25K to $50K. |
| Managed service | Weeks | Direct with Hulu, Peacock, Amazon and YouTube. Minimums around $100K. |
What it costs
Directional CPMs.
CPM is cost per thousand impressions. These are typical 2026 ranges; your plan gets real quotes.
| Format | Typical CPM | Read |
|---|---|---|
| Live sport (NFL, NBA) | $9 to $40+ | The most expensive inventory in US TV, and the strongest betting adjacency |
| Broadcast primetime | $6.50 to $30+ | Mass reach and the trust that comes with it |
| Premium CTV | $6.50 to $30 | Geo-fenced, measured, brand-safe |
| Programmatic CTV | $4 to $23 | The workhorse of a compliant launch |
| National cable | $2 to $18 | Efficient frequency |
| AVOD (Tubi, Pluto, Roku) | $3 to $15 | Cheap incremental households |
| Local broadcast and cable | $1.50 to $10 | State-level and DMA-level reach at regional cost |
Live in 30 days
Signature to on air.
Map and plan
Legal map confirmed. Target states, audiences and budget set. A plan across linear DMAs and CTV. Creative brief agreed.
Produce
Script to finished spot. Broadcast-ready creative is included, with compliance and responsible-gaming elements built in at production.
Clear and book
Network clearances secured. CTV built with state geo-fencing. Linear placements booked.
Launch and measure
CTV goes live and linear flights start. The measurement baseline is set on day one.
Measurement
TV you can hold to a number.
Weekly reporting on cost per first rip and 90-day payback, by state, daypart and creative. If TV isn't paying back, you'll hear it from me first.
Geo-level incrementality
Matched-market tests across DMAs and states. The cleanest way to show TV caused the growth.
Impression-level CTV data
Every impression logged by household geography, feeding cost per first rip and 90-day payback by state, daypart and creative.
Spike analysis
Minute-by-minute response in downloads, site traffic and branded search after each linear spot.
Marketing mix modeling (MMM)
TV's contribution read alongside every other channel, so budget follows evidence.
The US TV Playbook for Gaming OperatorsFree download
The US TV Playbook
All 7 categories mapped. Who can advertise where, how US TV is bought, what it costs, and how to measure it so finance signs off.
Contact
Tell me what you're trying to do in the US.
You'll talk to me directly. If TV isn't the right next dollar for you, I'll say so.