How to Play Scratch Cards
One of the main attractions of online scratch cards is just how easy they are to play. They work in a very similar way to the scratch cards that you can buy in shops, but arguably, they are even simpler, especially as you don’t have to worry about finding a coin to scratch the panels with.
As with most online casino games, the first thing that you need to decide is how much you want to spend on the cards. Online scratch cards have a broad betting range, so low and high rollers alike can enjoy them. After you have set your price and paid for the card, all that is left to do is click on the panels to reveal the hidden symbols.
The way in which you win prizes will differ slightly from game to game. Very often, you will be rewarded for finding enough matching symbols, usually three or more. The symbols in the game will usually be related to the theme; for example, a game with an Irish theme may feature leprechauns and four-leaf clovers, and there will be a paytable showing how much each symbol is worth. However, some games will simply display cash values. In other games, there may just be one symbol that awards a prize and you win if you find it behind any of the panels. You may come across scratch cards that work in slightly different ways, but the basic principle is always going to be the same; you win by finding the right symbol(s).
There is also some variation in the way that paytables are displayed. Most games will show you cash values for the different symbols that are adjusted depending on how much you bet on the card. However, some paytables may simply show the number the bet should be multiplied by. You will be amazed by how much you can win from our scratch cards; some of them offer payouts of tens of thousands times the bet.
There are even scratch cards that give you multiple chances to win. With these cards, you purchase a number of lines rather than just a single card, and each line represents another opportunity to win. This means that you could win multiple payouts from one card.
There are also tools built into the scratch cards that are designed to enhance your playing experience. For instance, if you find the idea of clicking on each panel individually a bit cumbersome, then you can use a ‘Reveal All’ button that removes all of the panels at once and immediately shows you if you have won. This also greatly increases the rate of play, which only serves to ramp up the excitement levels. If this idea appeals to you then you will also enjoy using the auto play functionality. You simply set how many cards you want to purchase, click on play, and can then watch as they are played one at a time.
Where Did Scratch Cards Come From?
Today scratch cards are ubiquitous. They can be found in thousands of shops in countries around the world, and they are hugely popular. Scratch cards are sold in newsagents, supermarkets, tobacconists, post offices, and more. Even people who don’t usually gamble love the thrill the cards provide and they are popular with all demographics.
However, considering how popular scratch cards are today, both online and offline, they are a surprisingly recent creation. The physical cards couldn’t be produced until printing and computer technology had advanced to the point where it was possible to mass produce them quickly, reasonably cheaply, and securely.
John Koza and Daniel Bower in the United States developed the modern form of scratch cards. Bower was an expert in marketing while Koza had studied computer sciences at university. The pair came up with the idea of creating randomised patterns of symbols or numbers that were produced by computers and then printed with a covering made from a latex-like substance that could be easily removed with a fingernail or a coin. Anyone interested in the gambling world has probably heard of the company Scientific Games and it was actually Koza and Bower who founded it in 1974. They then created the initial prototypes of printed scratch cards. Clearly, they knew what they were doing as today Scientific Games is a huge presence in the gambling industry, both online and land-based, and it continues to work with lotteries across the world to this day. Furthermore, here at Spin Rio you can play many of the company’s fantastic online slots and other casino games.
Thanks to Bower’s knowledge of marketing, the pair also had ideas about who to sell their new scratch cards to. They were aware that many US states were reliant upon revenues from state lotteries and realised that their scratch cards were a great opportunity to increase these revenues.
Scientific Games’ scratch cards were first sold in Massachusetts and they found immediate success with the public. Within a remarkably short space of time, scratch cards were bringing in average revenues of $2.7 million every week! With such impressive numbers, it was no surprise when several other states approached the company about developing their own scratch cards.
As mentioned, today it is easy to buy scratch cards in many different shops. However, at first they were only sold at official booths and outlets. Players would have to go to the counter and request a card. The next major scratch card revolution came along in 1985 when the businessman Cal Tigner had the idea of developing clear plastic containers that would securely hold scratch cards while displaying the rolls of the brightly coloured cards to customers.
Shops began to place these new special containers near the cashiers so that customers could see them. The idea was that it would lead to more impulse purchases, and it certainly worked. The containers were soon in high demand and Tigner’s company very quickly started selling roughly 200,000 of them each year.
While this was a major change in the way that scratch cards were sold, the physical cards themselves have undergone very little changes since 1974. Printing technology has improved and the cards may have designs that are more modern; however, they are essentially exactly the same as they were around fifty years ago.
Of course, as online gambling began to grow in popularity, it wasn’t long before the first online scratch cards were developed. Today, players have a fantastic choice of online scratch cards with different themes and many of them even incorporate small bonus features that offer the chance of larger winnings. Thanks to this, scratch cards are more popular than ever before and they look set to remain a staple of the gambling industry for many years to come.
Why Play Online Scratch Cards?
You may think that scratch cards are games that are more suited to the physical rather than virtual world. However, there are actually a number of advantages to playing online scratch cards over physical scratch cards. To start with, the entire process is far more convenient. While you may be able to buy scratch cards in vast number of shops, this still requires leaving the house and finding your nearest shop. If you are playing online, you can access scratch cards in seconds through both your computer and your mobile device. Furthermore, if you spend your change on a physical scratch card you may find that you don’t have a coin left with which to remove the panels. Online this simply ceases to be a problem.
Another major advantage of online scratch cards is that you have far more choice than you are likely to find at your local shop. Here at Spin Rio, there is a fantastically diverse range of cards with themes such as travel, history, sports, casino games, adventure, nature and more. Furthermore, when playing online these themes become far more immersive thanks to the graphics and sound effects incorporated into the cards, which makes the experience far more enjoyable. While the games may all be played in a similar way, finding a scratch card with a theme you love will bring a new element of fun to the experience that you are unlikely to experience with a physical scratch card.
While part of the joy of scratch cards is their simplicity, the physical version is very much a one-dimensional experience. When playing online often there are special bonus features that enhance the games and provide even more entertainment. You may find that there is a special bonus round where you can win payout multipliers, or even an entirely separate game built into the scratch card. As such, even if you don’t have to physically scratch the panels, playing online scratch cards is often a far more engaging experience.
No matter what type of game you are playing, online gambling is all about the thrill of discovering whether you have won, and when you play online it is much easier to recreate this thrill. You can login to Spin Rio and purchase a scratch card in seconds, and as long as you are sticking to your budget, you can then purchase another, and another, all without the hassle of having to queue in shops. Furthermore, if you are lucky enough to win, then you will see the money in your account straightaway. If you win with a physical scratch card then you have to go to collect your winnings.
One of the most amazing things about online scratch cards is how much you can win. There are several scratch cards here at Spin Rio that will payout up to 50,000 times your bet. This means that even if you are betting a very small amount, e.g. €0.01 on a card, you could still win as much as €500. Of course, if you are a high roller and betting €2 or more on a card then you could win a vast amount of money.
There is no doubt that online scratch cards are a huge amount of fun. Even if you are the type of person who would rather use strategies playing games such as Blackjack, occasionally you may just want to relax and give your mind a rest, and scratch cards are the perfect way to do so.
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