scratching a scratch card with dollar signs

Scratch Cards

Who wouldn’t be triggered by the excitement of playing on scratch cards with a possibility to win great amounts of money? Today there are many different kinds of scratch cards, but all of them have the same origin.

The history behind scratch cards

Today’s scratch cards are one of the youngest games since they emerged as late as in the mid-’70s, but the game of lottery itself has a long history. The scratch cards of today are however special with the unique detail that you’ll find out whether you won or not immediately while you’re scratching it. When it was introduced it was an incredibly innovative concept that created a “hype” and a big demand in the gaming market.

It was an American computer company that in the 70s realized there was a gap to fill in the market, with professional lotteries created by a computerised system. The company’s name is Scientific Corporation and it was led by John Koza and Daniel Bower, who entered a completely new market, but a market that was more than “ready” for them. They quickly got their first customer, Massachusetts Lottery Commission, which was responsible for the state’s lotteries. The reason for the company to seek out Koza and Bower was because the customers had to wait very long for their results, that is to find out whether they won or not. The main focus for Scientific Corporations was that it had to be a fast game – that the lottery ticket showed the result fast.

The work was done through a so-called random algorithm where the customer/player would find out straight away whether they won or not. There were also special features applied to the lottery ticket, which made it available for a lot of people. Koza and Bower’s concept was soon a great success. However, it would still take pretty long before the scratch card became what we today recognise as a scratch card.

As the scratch card was spreading among the states in the US it became more obvious what kind of problems there were with the scratch cards, mostly the deficiencies in how to reach more people. However, Tigner, an American, turned this around by introducing “Take-A-Ticket” in plastic, which was perfect to sell in all the popular betting shops. This gave the opportunity for more people to find out about the existence of the lottery tickets and suddenly there was a kind of “buzz” around the scratch card.

When it comes to scratch cards in Sweden and other countries today the prices vary a lot. You have versions that cost around a euro as well as scratch cards for a much higher price, but also incredible high winnings. Scratch cards are common in different kinds of charity organisations for example, where the lottery tickets are used to collect money for various purposes and projects. Most of us have probably encountered this kind of gaming, either by visiting a gaming shop or just by being offered to buy a lottery ticket.

Scratch cards online

Until a few years back you could only buy scratch cards in betting shops, but now these scratch cards are also available to play online. More and more casinos offer this type of game on their online sites, and the interest in this kind of gaming seems to increase among players in general.

Just as when you play on a real lottery ticket you’ll “scratch” the card online as well, to get a result and to find out whether you won or not straight away. There are loads of different themes, colours and designs on scratch cards online, so make sure that you read about the rules and what applies to the specific site you’re visiting. When you scratch the card, you’ll use the mouse instead of your nails, a coin or plastic scraper.

The winning combinations can be a bit different, but the most common type is to match two or three of the same symbol. Another way to win in this kind of lottery is to beat the dealer by revealing a better hand of cards by scratching the ticket. On paper tickets, the most common way to win is by matching three symbols of the same amount of money, and this you can find on online scratch cards as well.