The instant scratch-off lottery

This lottery was first launched in 1974. Its name clearly identifies the actions a participant has to take: in English, scratch means “to scrape”. This gambling game immediately became very popular – the rules are simple and participation is free. And now you don’t even have to go anywhere: scratch lotteries are conducted online and you can play their demo version without registration and without any fees.

The classic rules of scratch cards

Traditional lottery scratch cards come with a 9-cell playing field. They contained images that were hidden under a special coating. You were supposed to erase it; if you were lucky and three images matched, you won.

The Internet version of scratch cards appeared at the beginning of the new millennium. There were two ways to “erase” the coating.

• By alternately hovering the mouse over each cell.
• By pressing a key, which opened all sectors at once. Either Show Card or Scratch All was used, it depended on the lottery version.

The popularity of Scratch led to all Internet gambling developers introducing a personal version of the lottery into their collection.

Modern offerings

Virtuality allows for a serious expansion of the game’s possibilities. So types of cards are now offered in a huge variety.

• Tickets with large fields – in multiple levels and rows. Opening just a few of the same drawings is not enough – they must be filled horizontally, vertically or diagonally – this is determined by the game conditions.
• Tickets with the winning image. It is assigned a certain price. If your picture is on the general field and not only on your card, you win.
• Tickets with special symbols. There are two kinds – the wild (like the joker in the cards, it can replace any picture) and the bonus one – it gives you the right to participate in the free prize round.
• Tickets are video-enhanced, such as Playtech’s version of the Rocky Scratch scratch-off lottery. The ticket has 3 boxes containing images of Rocky’s adversary. You choose your image – a video clip broadcasting the fight is triggered. The prize is awarded when Rocky defeats his opponent.

To increase player interest, developers are releasing online maps with different designs. They can reflect the content of literary works, comic books, Hollywood blockbusters, ancient myths, etc.

Scratch and poker

Instant lotteries have found their niche on poker sites as well. PokerStars’ bonus policy, for example, involves giving out lottery cards to regulars and activist users. Tickets are drawn according to standard rules, the simplest of which is that you must have three of the same type of picture on your field.

The best scratch ticket developers

Among the producers of online gaming software, the most respected by gamblers are:

• Playtech. They have the greatest variety of scratch cards – over fifty variations. On top of that, players really liked the lotteries developed on the basis of the Marvel universe.
• Microgaming. The company has released several dozen very popular lines of scratch cards.
• NetEnt. Developments of the manufacturer are interesting in variety. There are lotteries with traditional rules, there are cards that are given non-standard options. So, have scratch Zodiac very original design, but the rules are the most common. But players in 7 Gold Scratch players have the opportunity to take part in a bonus free round. The upper limit of winnings is 100,000 game units.
• Scratch2Cash. Has been the market leader for a number of years. The company has lotteries with the biggest jackpots. For example, in 3WOW, a lucky player can break a million (!) credits.

The bottom line

The gaming industry does not stand still. Instant lottery developers are giving away scratches for smartphones and continuously expanding the line-up of versions. So this market is not going to lose the interest of gamblers any time soon.