It is gambling, with some valuable "pulls" and intermediate steps that grant a plausible non-gambling veneer (such as having to sell the card on eBay instead of just pocketing money, etc.)

I never see kids using the machine at my local grocery store. I see adults, the same ones that patronize the CA lottery machine located next to the Pokemon machine, loitering while waiting for the next set of packs to "unlock" (they are on a timed release to manage the stock).

It's a depressing sight.