Scratch Cards Jackpot: Play Online and Win Massive Prizes

A scratch card is what it sounds like – a piece of card, usually with attractive printing describing the reward, on which part of the surface can be scratched off to reveal what is underneath. When we ask how to play lottery online we have to think about scratch cards - they're very popular. In the move from offline to online, the 'scratching' is done using the keyboard on your laptop, tablet or smartphone. The prize can be anywhere from a small sum or even simply the right to play again, free, up to millions of dollars. Prizes can also include holidays, cars, household appliances and similar rewards.

Scratch cards vary in what is visible when the covering has been removed. Sometimes, a single image tells the holder whether or not the card has won a prize.

Scratch Cards Jackpot: Play Online and Win Massive Prizes
Samuel O'Reilly
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Where to buy tickets for Scratch Cards

Quite often, it's a question of matching – there may be six sums of money or six objects, and if three of them are the same, that's the prize the card wins. A big advantage of scratch cards is: you know immediately whether you've won – and, if you have, what the prize is.

You can buy scratch cards anywhere you can buy an online lottery ticket. If you know how to buy a lottery ticket online, then you know how to buy a scratch card. Buying game tickets online means that anyone almost anywhere in the world can play. A bigger pool of buyers means more chances to win because there's more money in the pot.

The history of Scratch Cards

We don't know who produced the first scratch cards. What we do know is that the first patent for an 'instant scratch-off lottery ticket' was granted in America in 1987 to Astro-Med, Inc in Rhode Island. Since then, they've been used for all kinds of purposes. Hospitals have used them to raise money, and so have many different types of charity.

They've been used without the gambling element in games for children and as learning aids – the student is asked a question and scratches off the cover over what they think is the correct answer to learn immediately whether they got it right or wrong. Nevertheless, it's still a lottery ticket online that most scratch cards are sold for all those alternative uses.

Are Scratch Cards legal?

This question depends to a great extent on where in the world we are talking about. Islam as a religion frowns on any form of gambling, and many Islamic countries such as Saudi Arabia do not permit gambling to occur.

But what is gambling? Some countries ban raffles, while others permit it. Indeed, the proof of the pudding is in the eating and, if you are in an Islamic country and want to know whether it is legal to buy scratch cards there, the best way to find out is to log on to a site where one can play scratch cards online.

If you receive a message saying that access to this site is not permitted where you are, then you know that the country does not want you to do it. You could, of course, circumvent this by using a VPN – but you should still be aware that, strictly speaking, what you are doing is not legal in the place where you are doing it.

Elsewhere – in North America, South America and Europe, and most of Africa – scratch cards will be legal provided you are over 18 (or, in some cases, over 21). And in China and many other parts of Asia, gambling is immensely popular. Any form in which it comes, including scratch cards, will be not just permissible but practiced with great enthusiasm.

How to play Scratch Cards

This is a matter of how to play the lottery online.

Feel at home

Start by finding a site on which you feel comfortable – one that, in your opinion, presents itself in a way that makes you feel at home. Playing online should be enjoyable – that's the whole point of it.

What's on offer?

It's unusual for an online lotto site to have only one kind of scratch card on offer. Which do you feel comfortable with? The one that offers a huge cash return, but where the odds against success are bound to be higher? The one where you're very likely to win quite frequently, but the winnings will be modest?

Or somewhere in between? Whichever option appeals to you, take it. Select that scratch card. Then go to work on it. Do what you have to do – press whatever combination of keys is required – to remove the cover and reveal whether you have won.

What's your budget?

Each time, you'll probably be offered the opportunity to go again – to buy another card. That's great. You're doing this because you like doing it, so doing it again is likely to increase your pleasure up to a point. And that point is the one at which you begin to feel that perhaps you've wagered enough for one day. That's the moment to stop. Tomorrow is another day. Come back to scratch cards, then.

What are the odds to win at Scratch Cards?

The odds of winning with any particular scratch card depend on the value of the prizes, the amount in the pot, and what the organizer wants the odds to be. You might imagine if you didn't know better, the organizer wouldn't want anyone to win because each prize takes money away from what the organizer has collected.

But that fails to understand the fundamental point about scratch cards and any other form of lotto: the organizer wants winners because, if people see other people winning with a scratch card, they are likely to buy a card of their own. If everyone they know who buys a scratch card fails to win a prize, why would they buy one themselves? Of course, they wouldn't.

Payout options if you win

You've won! Well done! Now - how do you collect your winnings? You're playing online, so you can claim online, too. The instructions will be right there in front of you. You'll be invited to spend some of your winnings on a new scratch card; if you're feeling lucky (and why wouldn't you be? You just won!), go ahead. The rest of the money you can transfer into your account, and you can draw it out from there. Enjoy!

Does it tell you on the website?

When you buy a card offline, the back of the card usually includes a sentence something like, ''The Overall Odds of Winning a Prize are…'' and then a statement of the odds. '1 in 3,' or whatever it happens to be. But you are buying online, not offline, so you have no physical card on which you can look at the back. But the odds may very well be stated somewhere in the card details that are carried online. Take a look. Are they there?

Tips and tricks to play Scratch Cards

When you play scratch cards online, don't buy the cheapest cards. They're cheap because the pool winnings come from is smaller

Check whether the card tells you what the odds of winning are. It makes sense to buy a card with better odds

Stay within your budget.

When you buy game tickets online, stay with the same kind of card. If you're going to buy ten scratch cards, you will have a better chance of coming out ahead if all ten are the same type of card than if you try the scattergun approach of going from card to card.

Don't drink alcohol while you're playing. If you drink enough alcohol to cloud your judgement, you won't be thinking clearly about the odds. Or about staying within your budget. Keep those two pleasures separate.

And, finally, remember this: It's about luck. And sometimes luck will be on your side, and sometimes it won't. Be ready to stop when it's clear that you are getting nowhere. But be sure to come back another day to see whether your luck has changed.

About the author
Samuel O'Reilly
Samuel O'ReillyAreas of Expertise:
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Samuel O'Reilly, an Aussie native, is the mastermind behind some of the most insightful online casino guides. With a decade in the gaming industry, Samuel's expertise is second to none, making his reviews a favorite amongst both novices and professionals. Avatar Name: CasinoKangaroo

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