Target Launches Online Lottery for Pokémon TCG Purchases

⚠️ Heads up: This article is based on leaked or unofficial information. Details may change before any official announcement.

Buying Pokémon cards at Target is now a drawing. A new lottery system is live on Target’s online storefront, and the first product running through it is a Scarlet & Violet: Destined Rivals three-pack blister. Customers who entered are getting “You’re in the drawing” confirmation emails, with Target promising to notify winners who are then able to purchase starting November 4 at 10am CT.

Hints of the system were dug up on Target’s site a handful of weeks ago. Now it’s actually running on a live product.

How the Drawing Works

The mechanics are simple. Target opens an entry page where customers signal their intent to buy a specific Pokémon TCG product. That page stays live for a set window, and the entry period here appears to run much longer than similar systems elsewhere. Once entries close, Target randomly selects winners from the pool, and only those winners can complete the purchase.

If you entered this first drawing, you don’t need to do anything else. Target will email you if you’re picked, and selected buyers can check out starting November 4 at 10am CT.

The structure mirrors the in-person lotteries that physical Pokémon Center stores in Japan and Asia have used for a while. There, visitors enter during a set window each day, winners are drawn, and the specific TCG items are locked to everyone else for the rest of that day. Target has essentially moved that model online, and it joins Walmart, which runs a similar setup on its own online store.

Part of a Bigger Anti-Scalper Push

This is the latest in a string of measures The Pokémon Company has been working on with retailers to keep product out of scalpers’ carts. Some stores cap how much of a given product one customer can buy, with limits varying by store. Pokémon Centers in some cases require lottery participation just to buy a select number of booster packs, and we saw the Pokémon Center take a similar gated approach in the US with the invite-only Ascended Heroes ETB restock last month.

The crackdown extends to the resale side too. On Yahoo! Flea Market and Yahoo! Auctions, sellers are now blocked from posting Pokémon cards by the carton, and Nintendo had already shared a wider anti-scalping plan for the Pokémon TCG earlier this year.

What This Means for Collectors

For anyone who has watched a Target restock sell out in minutes, a drawing is a real improvement. You enter once, on your own time, and either you’re picked or you’re not. No refresh wars, no racing bots to the checkout page.

The open question is scope. One Destined Rivals blister is a small test, and it remains to be seen whether Target expands the system to other sealed product going forward. Both major big-box retailers now have online lotteries running.

If the retail drawing doesn’t go your way, you can skip the sealed chase entirely and pick up the specific cards you want as Pokémon TCG singles.