Pokemon card scalpers are generally regarded as the worst part of the hobby, and in Japan, The Pokemon Company is taking steps to address the problem. As part of its crackdown to create a safe shopping environment, The Pokemon Company is introducing a facial recognition system for adult shoppers and children of a certain age.
According to its website, this will be a mandatory measure for gaining access to a Pokemon Card Store, and customers may only enter a shop once per day. Preschoolers are not required to undergo a facial scan, but they do need to be accompanied by a guardian to gain entry.
“If the system detects that the same person has entered the store more than once in one day or received more than one entry ticket–and a notification (alert) to that effect is displayed on the screen–entry will be denied to that person based on the system’s judgment,” the new guidelines read. For now, this system will only be in place for Japanese Pokemon card shops.
Scalping Pokemon cards has become a lucrative side-hustle over the last couple of years, as the trading card game has grown in popularity throughout the 2010s. At the same time, this has made the hobby hard to break into for regular players, as new stock is often pounced upon the second store doors open, as scalpers rush to grab as much inventory as possible.
This has also led to a surge in burglaries across the globe, as numerous stories have surfaced lately of thieves targeting collectibles shops specifically for their Pokemon cards. In January, thieves armed with guns and hammers stormed a newly opened Pokemon store and stole over $100,000 worth of collectibles.
Even trying to get rare Pokemon cards legitimately can be a headache, as chaos erupted during a Pokemon promotion at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam when scalpers attempted to snatch up all the Pikachu with Grey Felt Hat cards.