Publishing pity rates: what operators must show vs what is optional

Jurisdictions diverge on gacha transparency. For Japan-facing live ops, JOGA’s own clarification is the cleanest public statement of a minimum publish set.

Must vs optional under JOGA

JOGA’s clarification (body-read 20 September 2026) corrects press coverage that implied a hard 50,000-yen spend cap plus mandatory probability posting. Under the guideline, when rare items are offered, operators must satisfy any one of paths a–d in section 3(1) of the display and operations guideline: expected-amount multiple of pull price with disclosure if exceeded; expected-amount yen ceiling with disclosure if exceeded; rare rate upper/lower bounds; or rates by item type.

Separately, section 2 display duties (catalogue of obtainable items, rare call-outs, limited counts, advance rate-change notices, duplicate rules, defect notices) are not optional window-dressing — they are listed as information that must be easy for users to view on gacha pages.

Pity counters are design choices. If you advertise a hard pity, the same surfaces that carry rates should state the counter and reset rule; JOGA’s text does not invent a single mandatory pity UI.

Operator takeaway

Publish the path you actually run (a, b, c, or d) plus section-2 catalogue duties. Do not claim “we post every rate everywhere” if you only run path (a). Do not cite JOGA as EU or KR law.

Facts vs limits

Download the operator card.

Draft prepared 20 September 2026. Local expansion-500 file; human editorial review pending. No CMS write.