Card breakers sue TikTok and Fanatics over bans

Three US sports memorabilia sellers have sued TikTok and Fanatics, with complaints filed between 13 July and 10 September. They allege their TikTok Shop accounts were banned after trademark and gambling strikes, and that TikTok staff and consultants then pointed them towards exclusive Fanatics deals.

Fanatics has disputed similar exclusivity allegations in an earlier case. For operators and affiliates, the filings could show how gambling-policy enforcement on a social commerce platform is being challenged by the sellers affected.

What happened

The plaintiffs are MVP Breaks of Arizona, Quad City Breaks of Minnesota and Dorm Dudes of Ohio.

The Dorm Dudes complaint, filed on 8 September under case number 2:26-cv-10028, names TikTok Inc., ByteDance Inc., TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC and several Fanatics entities. Its claims arise under federal antitrust and unfair competition laws. MVP Breaks filed on 10 September under case number 2:26-cv-10202. Quad City Breaks filed on 13 July. Gambling Insider reported that Bigfoot Sports Breaks, a fifth breaker, filed suit against TikTok and Fanatics entities on 11 September.

MVP Breaks says it was earning about $475,000 a month by August 2025, and that revenue fell to $283,000 by September 2025 after repeated strikes for "purported trademark and intellectual property infringement as well as alleged gambling". The company says it complied with the gambling rules TikTok itself had published. David Skalsky, who ran Quad City Breaks, says he made as much as $200,000 a month. A Chapter 7 bankruptcy later discharged his company, an outcome he attributes to the defendants. Dorm Dudes says its sales in the fourth quarter of 2024 came to about $3.2 million.

Each complaint names Steve Halupka, identified by the plaintiffs as the US Sports Collectibles Team Lead at TikTok Shop. MVP Breaks alleges that he and another TikTok representative suggested contacting a named individual about signing with Fanatics in a text exchange on or about 28 October 2025. Skalsky and Dorm Dudes also name consultant Sean Ceruti of SnL Consulting, who Skalsky says offered to coordinate with Halupka on reinstatement if he signed with Fanatics.

On 25 November 2025, MVP Breaks says, it signed up to the Fanatics Memorabilia Seller Agreement, but the channel was never reinstated.

Lawrence Buterman of Latham & Watkins, a lawyer for Fanatics, wrote in a letter dated 23 March that the seller agreement does not require breakers to sell only Fanatics products on TikTok. That letter became part of the court record in a previous lawsuit by GFC & Supply. It added that Fanatics had no record of any signed agreement or sales with that plaintiff.

TikTok says it may act against sellers who breach its policies or performance standards, with measures ranging from removing listings to restricting accounts. TikTok, Fanatics, the NFL and the plaintiffs' attorney had not responded to Gambling Insider's requests for comment by publication.

Why it matters

Operators and affiliates that promote through TikTok or other social commerce channels should check how their accounts are classified under platform gambling policies. They should also keep records of enforcement notices and treat any third-party offer to arrange reinstatement with caution. The sellers allege that gambling strikes sat alongside trademark claims, which could mean the grounds for a ban are mixed and hard to contest.

The cases also touch on a company that spans collectibles and betting. The NFL added Fanatics as an official betting operator in August, Gambling Insider has reported. Fanatics' position in an earlier case was that its agreement imposes no requirement on breakers to sell only Fanatics products on TikTok.

How the court treats the antitrust claims could shape how far platforms are held to account for enforcement decisions that favour commercial partners.