Walmart’s Pokémon 30th Celebration TCG Lottery Starts Soon & Includes Mini Tins — Here’s How to Win

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It’s Wednesday, which means Walmart’s limited-time lottery for Pokémon cards and other highly coveted items is about to drop once again. If you have yet to rip packs from the first wave of the Pokémon 30th Celebration launch (more to come on Wave 2 soon!) or spent the entire morning in the hours-long queue at Pokemon Center online for the Mega Evolution—Delta Reign expansion to no luck, fortunately we’ve got Walmart. More specifically, Walmart’s lottery system, which was built to give fans a fair chance at securing cards online.

Pokémon 30th Celebration TCGs officially launched at the Pokemon Center online and a ton of other retailers (see the list of most unexpected places to buy them here) last week. As many of us have probably seen or experienced personally, securing cards online or in store is a bit of a struggle. While you can definitely find 30th anniversary ETBs and booster packs out there, good luck finding them at close to MSRP.

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As someone who has successfully won a few Walmart’s Pokémon TCG lotteries (the Prismatic Evolutions ETB and 30th Celebration sets), I’ve got all the insight into what the process is actually like, the exact time the lottery goes live TODAY, and what you can do to (hopefully) secure your anniversary cards. Of course, if you want to jump right into Walmart’s lottery, click on the button below. Otherwise, read on to learn more.

This article was last updated on Wednesday, September 30 to reflect the most current items included in the Walmart’s limited-time Pokémon TCG lottery.

What Time Does the Pokémon 30th Anniversary TCG Lottery Go Live at Walmart?

The links to Walmart’s limited-time drawings officially go live today, September 30th at 2 p.m. PT/5 p.m. ET. The window should be open for about an hour (note: it has been in previous draws). At that time, you’ll make your selects by clicking the button below each item and provide key info like your shipping address and payment. That’s it!

Of course, no payment will be collected at this time. That’ll happen if you win the lottery, which you’ll learn more about below.

Which Pokémon 30th Celebration TCGs Will Be Available During Walmart’s Lottery Today?

Here’s a look at the 30th anniversary TCG sets dropping today at Walmart. It’s worth noting that no Pokémon TCG: 30th Celebration Elite Trainer Boxes will be included in this week’s drop. However, they’ve got a great selection of booster bundles and mini tins to sign up for — especially since they’re reasonably priced compared to what’s currently on the market. With that, check out Walmart’s Pokémon lottery offerings below.

How Does Walmart Choose Lottery Winners?

Per Walmart’s FAQ, winners are selected after the drawing period ends. As part of the selection process, the retailer will review each entry for eligibility and remove any entries that appear suspicious. So, if you struggled to get the ETB or other TCG box sets today, Walmart gives you a shot to get your picks fairly.

Again, as someone who has won one of these entries and has had their ETB delivered just fine, I believe the system works. Walmart states in the FAQ that due to inventory, not everyone will be selected. But it definitely beats the struggle of having to keep refreshing every two seconds to possibly add an ETB to your cart.

What Happens If You Get Selected?

Once Walmart makes their selections for the limited-time draw, you should receive a notification via email that you were selected. See the example below.

Since you already included all your payment and shipping info when you entered the drawing, you don’t have to do anything further. Walmart will automatically process your payment and send you tracking information once that’s available.

How Can I Increase My Chances of Winning & Getting Selected?

The purpose of Walmart’s lottery system for highly coveted items is to make it more fair for everyone who wants them. Because of this, there really isn’t anything you can do to up your chances of getting selected (as far as I know, anyway). It also shouldn’t matter what time you place an order as Walmart doesn’t make any selections until the lottery window is over.

I placed my order around 10 to 20 minutes after the links officially went live and was selected. Someone I knew placed their order right when links went live and didn’t get selected. Again, it’s all random. But I do recommend keeping track of the hour-long window so you don’t miss out on your chance to buy your anniversary TCGs. I also recommend being logged on to your Walmart account (a regular account is fine, no Walmart+ needed) to make the process go smoother and faster. In case you were wondering, I am not a Walmart+ member, so I doubt being one will increase your chances of being selected.

Once again, Walmart’s Pokémon 30th Celebration lottery opens today at 2:00 p.m. PT/5 p.m. ET. Good luck!

Looking for more Pokémon must-haves to shop? Check out the newly-released Owala tumblers that launched exclusively at Target, the Adidas collab that just dropped last week, as well as our big roundup of 30th anniversary merch that launched this year.