Online casino scratch cards are a relatively new type of instant play, inspired by lottery tickets with a protective layer.
As a child, we all loved these magic tickets, which must be rubbed with a coin or scratched with a fingernail to see a happy combination.
And online casino games developers have taken note of such an interesting way of play. Now online scratch cards have appeared on many platforms, where you also need to erase the protective layer, but with the help of clicks. You don’t need to go anywhere to buy a ticket, and the result is credited instantly! The Shangri La online casino site now also has a Scratch Cards section with a juicy games collection from the world’s best developers.
Why are scratch cards so popular?
The popularity of scratch cards, which literally blew up the online casino world, is one of the modern gaming phenomena. While the developers were working on complicating the graphics and storylines for the new online slots, players missed the simplicity and speed. And as soon as instant games appeared on the horizon, where the final result can be obtained in one click, they won the people’s love.
Most often, scratch cards have very simple graphics, and the plot is completely unpretentious. Just what you need to completely not think about the complexity of the game and relax as much as possible. You clicked and immediately got your winnings – perfect! And what is captivating, the online ticket price can be increased by 10,000 times or even more.
3 reasons to play scratch cards online
• Fast wins
One click on this online scratch card can turn into an instant prize and even a jackpot.
• Low cost
Virtual scratch cards can be quite inexpensive! For just a few cents, it’s easy to buy a ticket and remove the protective layer with one click.
• Chance to win big
Literally all such cards give a chance to increase the rate by a factor of thousands. And there are those among them that give out millions of jackpots. If you are interested in such prizes, you should choose a scratch card with a jackpot and rely on your luck.
The scratch cards history
The scratch card birthplace is the USA. It is believed that the first coated lottery tickets appeared in 1974 under the Instant Game brand. The development was carried out by Scientific Games Corporation, which was one of the first to propose not to wait a week for the lottery results, but to win instantly. The idea and its implementation belongs to a computer scientist – John Koza.
It is the Koza system that is the template for the classic scratch card; by the way, it is still used today. Using manual random number generation methods, combinations were created and then were applied to paper tickets and covered with a special protective layer. Erasing this layer made it possible to instantly know the result. Daniel Bauer, the famous promoter of that time, helped to give the new product popularity. As a result, Dittley Brothers sold millions of tickets.
In the same 1974 in the state of Massachusetts, lottery scratch cards became the highlight of the government charity lottery. It attracted the public attention not only with its novelty, but also with instant payments.
Astro-Med, Inc. from Rhode Island has also seen promise in new lottery tickets and has filed a patent. It all started with surprisingly simple tickets with three dots, behind which were hiding letters and numbers. It was necessary to get one of the winning combinations provided by the rules in order to take the winnings.
The magic of the protective layer, which is so pleasant to scratch, attracted more and more players. Not surprisingly, scratch cards became more attractive and intricate. Manufacturers played with shape, color and design, placing Marvel heroes, NASCAR, MLB, NBA, Harley Davidson motorcycles and cars on the lottery.
Two major manufacturers were involved in the scratch cards creation in the United States: Scientific Games Corporation (as the unique product creator) and Pollard Banknote. Their tickets were sold all over the world: in Britain, Canada, Australia, Chile, Brazil.
After 40 years of success, the first scratch cards appeared on the Internet. The first online tickets appeared in 2005. The novelty was made available to the PrimeScratchCard audience. The first digital versions were very simple and mimicked the classic, simple, coated lottery tickets. For many years, the scratch cards popularity remained at a rather low level.
The breakthrough came closer to 2020 when scratch cards became more diverse and intriguing. The players got a whole direction, deceptively simple, but very exciting and profitable. Newcomers have a lot to explore, and seasoned players have a great option for relaxing games to turn their attention away from the more challenging online slots.
Scratch cards variety
You will love the amazing variety of scratch cards! In most cases, they play around with the theme of a lottery ticket with a protective layer, but they do it very resourcefully. Each new card is different from its predecessors and offers some kind of zest.
On the Shangri La website, you will find scratch cards of a wide styles variety!
Bingo Bonanza is the original scratch card that imitates a bingo game with a real lottery drum and balls falling out. On a virtual table, marks are made about the numbers drawn, and prize money is awarded for the coincidence.
Offside and Seek is an example of a classic sports ticket with a protective layer. You need to open a playing field with football players portraits. Nearby is a pay table for a guide.
Beer Fest Scratch is an instant game on the beer festival theme with awesome comic graphics and a humorous plot. Here, for the ticket price, you get three simple games: guess the dish, who will drink whom, which table will fall apart under the dancer. The difference between such a scratch card and the classic one that imitates a lottery is that the player must guess the event in each mini-game.
Pharaohs Gems is also a variant of an instant game with three events without visualizing a lottery ticket and without the possibility of choosing by stages. When placing a bet, you rely on what fate will give you in each of the three mini-rounds: a symbol in a chest, treasures in amphorae, a gift from Nefertiti.
Lost Vegas Zombie Version Scratch and Lost Vegas Survivor Version Scratch are two great scratch cards based on the popular slot of the same name. Just remove the protective layer and see what combinations fall out.
The difference between the cards and the slot is that in slot you can choose a Zombie or Survivor theme, and here the developers have created two different scratch cards with classic gameplay and familiar characters.
Golden Koi is a seemingly ordinary scratch card where you need to open the playing field and see the combo. But the developers have provided it with two cool features. Firstly, here you do not erase the layer and do not turn the pictures, but as if you are peeling off the stripes, as in one of the popular offline cards. Secondly, there is a wild symbol here!
Each scratch card has its own flavor in design, gameplay, sounds or other features. And this makes each card unique, despite the very simple playing way. It is very exciting to study such virtual lotteries, it is simply impossible to tear yourself away from some of the chips.
Scratch card RTP and volatility
As in all online casino games, a random number generator is responsible for each round outcome. And, accordingly, for each scratch card, its own RTP and volatility parameters are set, which correspond to the wins frequency and their spread relative to the average value.
The RTP level can differ very much, there are cards with a value of 90 %, but you can find 98 %. Volatility is usually average. But if you chose a card with a jackpot, most likely, such a game has high volatility.
How to play scratch cards
The gameplay is so simple that you can learn all the nuances in just a minute. Whatever design the game has, the process goes according to the following scenario:
• A bet is placed
• The playing field is opened (manually or automatically) / The rounds results are given
• Winnings are calculated in accordance with the paytable
Basically, you just need to determine how much you plan to bet on the game and make a couple of clicks to start the process. Winnings are calculated automatically, with winning combinations highlighted for clarity.
Where to play scratch cards
A reliable online casino with a license is the best place to play scratch cards. In this case, you get access to games from trusted developers with guaranteed fair distribution and prize money.
shangrila, licensed by Curacao, offers an entire Scratch Cards section with dozens of games from the best developers. A real treasure for those who prefer variety and like to test different games.
All products in the section work in the test mode and the real money mode. That means that you can play for free without time limits and learn the game rules before you start making real bets. The casino bonuses obtained in the casino games section can also be applied to playing scratch cards. Enjoy!
