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The Pokémon Company has issued a statement (thanks, Automaton) confirming that it is considering using government-issued ID to tackle scalping in the Trading Card Game community.
Though it doesn’t outright refer to scalpers, The Pokémon Company says that it wishes to “provide all customers with fair and safe opportunities” to purchase its products and take part in official events. The initiative will apply to priority lottery products along with the sale of certain products via Pokémon Centre Online, along with registration for events and tournaments in Japan. It aims to introduce the scheme from August 2026.
It goes on to explain that My Number Cards (the official government-issued ID in Japan) will be scanned via smartphones with an external service. Though it also stresses that the individual number on each ID will not be acquired or stored in any way.
Since the My Number Cards are not mandatory for Japanese citizens, The Pokémon Company has urged fans to apply for one if they wish to purchase certain products or take part in events in the future, explaining that it can take 1-2 months to receive the card after registration.
Gosh – quite an extreme response, huh? It’s difficult to say what kind of impact this might have on scalpers, since those taking part could theoretically just obtain a My Number Card for themselves, right? Still, it could well catch a few of them out, so we think this could prove to be an effective move from The Pokémon Company.