The Pokémon Company is taking stronger action against scalping in an effort to make Pokémon Trading Card Game (TCG) products more accessible to genuine fans. The latest measures include stricter identity verification, purchase restrictions, and additional safeguards aimed at preventing resellers from buying up high-demand products in bulk.
One of the biggest changes will affect Pokémon Center Online in Japan. Beginning with select products, customers will need to verify their identity using the country’s government-issued My Number Card before they can participate in purchase lotteries or buy certain Pokémon TCG items. The system is designed to limit duplicate accounts and reduce bot-assisted purchases while ensuring that products reach legitimate customers. The Pokémon Company says the verification process will not store users’ personal information beyond confirming their identity.
The company is also expanding anti-scalping efforts at physical retail locations. Official Pokémon Card Stores in Japan will introduce facial recognition technology to enforce daily entry and purchase limits. Customers attempting to obtain multiple entry tickets or exceed buying restrictions may be denied access, making it significantly harder for scalpers to bypass existing rules.
These measures build on earlier initiatives already in place, including virtual queues for high-traffic Pokémon Center launches, increased production of popular TCG sets, and ongoing reprints to improve product availability. The Pokémon Company has acknowledged that demand continues to outpace supply for certain releases and says it is working to keep products on store shelves for longer.
Scalping has become one of the biggest challenges facing the Pokémon TCG community, with limited-edition products frequently selling out within minutes before reappearing on secondary marketplaces at heavily inflated prices. Collectors and players have long called for stricter purchase controls, and the newly announced measures represent one of the company’s most comprehensive attempts yet to curb the practice.
While the new policies are currently focused on Japan, they could influence how The Pokémon Company handles future high-demand releases in other regions if the initiatives prove successful. For now, the company says its priority is ensuring that more Pokémon TCG products reach players and collectors rather than resellers.
