Online scratchcards for instant real money wins and jackpot-sized cash payouts

How to play scratchcards online

Playing online scratchcards couldn’t be simpler! Just the same as if you buy paper scratch cards in a store and scratch off the silver coating, to play for instant cash wins online, you’ll be buying one or more scratchcards using money in your account and then using your mouse to point and click on the play button to reveal the symbols.

Get the match (shown in the rules on the site) and win the corresponding amount.

You’ll need to follow the game guidelines and rules. These are usually published near the game you’re playing.

It all sounds easy. But there’s more to consider than the physical mechanics of playing a game. It would help if you got into the position to play first, and these steps should get you there:

1. Ensure it’s legal you’re eligible and can play your selected scratch game.
2. See the list of game operators that offer different types of scratch cards, so you know where to play.
3. Unless you’re playing for free, you’ll be creating an account with an operator and funding it with either your preferred fastest payment processing option or one that works best from the options available.
4. Choose a game from the list of themes or titles available.
5. Understand the odds against you winning a specific value prize in your game.
6. Explore the ways you might improve your winning chances.

Who can play instant win scratchcard games?

As long as you’re of the specified legal age and living in a country or region where playing an online scratchcard is allowed, you can legally play instant win games with cash prizes in the same way you can play other real money games.

You will need an account at one of the scratchcard websites and have deposited some money to use as funds for the wagers, and be able to use a deposit method that allows you to transfer money to the site you want to play at. This is unlikely to be a problem unless you live in a jurisdiction where betting is frowned upon or illegal, and you’ll typically find plenty of different deposit options.

What are the odds of getting a winning scratchcard?

Most sites will tell you how many times you’re likely to get a card that will earn you some cash on average. Often this works out at around 1 in 3 for the lower value wins, but bear in mind this doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll win 1 in 3, but the more you play, the closer you can expect to get to this on average.

For the big prizes, the odds are unsurprisingly heavily against you. Getting a jackpot win in any online real money scratch card game will be an extremely rare event.

According to the National Lottery Scratchcard Prizes website, the odds of winning a prize on a scratchcard vary from 1 in 3.38 to 1 in 4.8, depending on the specific scratchcard.

How much can you win?

Cash prizes in online scratchcard games can range from $/£/€1 up to a fortune of thousands or tens of thousands. In some cases, the prize can extend to hundreds of thousands. An excellent example of a higher-value card is the £100K A Year For 20 Years Game, playable on the National Lottery website. As the name implies, the winner will get a life-changing sum of money that’s paid annually for the next twenty years.

Of course, wins of the higher amounts are taking you into jackpot territory, and they are rare. Realistically, you should have good chances of collecting wins in the $/£/€ 10-50 range.

How fast can you get a scratch card win?

We’ve already seen that when you get a win from any gambling game you’re playing online, that win will display immediately in your account balance. There is no need to make a claim; the award of the winning amount is instant.

But getting the money you’ve won into your bank account can take time. The speed depends on the deposit method you chose and the withdrawal method you’re trying to use to get the cash out.

Some deposit and withdrawal options are faster than others. Based on our tests, Cryptocurrencies or e-wallets like Paypal and similar others enable the most rapid money transfers.

Paypal transfers can take as little as a couple of hours or less. The excellent part about Paypal is that it’s a wallet in its own right, and you can make purchases directly from a Paypal account.

In some circumstances, crypto transfers can be even faster, possibly ten to fifteen minutes. That’s one of the reasons that  Bitcoin gambling is increasing, with gamblers eager to take advantage of its anonymity factor, too.

Remember that, for either of these payout options, many operators will only allow you to withdraw using the same method you used to deposit. If you want the chance for a fast payout, it’ll be wise to make your initial deposit with either a cryptocurrency or an ewallet.

What types of scratch card games can you play?

With so many variations, it’s almost impossible to list all the different game types. Indeed, there are hundreds of themed cards with varying prizes and purchase prices.

There will be variations in the number of scratch-off windows, and the symbols you reveal will vary on different cards. There are several cards where you’ll play multiple games on the same card.

Two famous examples of individual scratch games include Monopoly Scratch and Fishin’ Frenzy.

You’ll find a great place to visit for some further game examples is the UK’s National Lottery game store.

Scratchcard software developers

A few highly-respected software manufacturers are operating in the scratchcards arena. Those with the most extraordinary expertise are better known for the range of themes behind their scratch card portfolios.

• Blueprint Gaming: Blueprint Gaming is a leading UK-based game studio and part of Germany’s Gauselmann Group. The focus is on creating exciting slot games for global online and mobile markets, but online scratch cards also make an appearance in the portfolio. Popular games include The Goonies Scratchcard and Fishin’ Frenzy.
• Pragmatic Play: Pragmatic Play is a leading software provider to the iGaming and betting industries. With an innovative and multi-faceted portfolio, their solutions are highly-regarded across the online gambling industry. In addition to gaming solutions that cover video slots, live casino, sports betting, virtual sports and bingo, Pragmatic has developed scratch card games that include such titles as the Gold Rush Scratchcard.
• NeoGames: Neogames focuses on providing solutions to the online lottery industry, including national and state-regulated lotteries. Their skills in providing interactive gaming products have contributed to the creation of respected scratchcard titles that include the fascinating The Wizard Of All game.
• PariPlay: A mobile scratchcard known as Cops & Robbers is a perfect example of PariPlay’s skills in developing innovative and thrilling gaming products across mobile, desktop and social channels.
• Netoplay: Netoplay is a leading casino software with a long history stretching back to 2008. Since then, this developer has provided scratch cards, bingo games, slots, and instant win titles to online casinos. Scratchmania is a respected casino operator that runs a selection of Netoplay scratchcard games.
• Scientific Games Corporation:  Another illustration of how closely lotteries and scratchcards are in the online gambling family. Scientific Games is also primarily a software solution provider to the lottery industry but includes scratch-off games in its solutions suite.

Where to play online scratch cards

There are dozens of online websites or mobile apps where you can play cash prize scratchcards. Virtually every bookie, sportsbook, online casino, or online bingo operator has a section for scratch-offs, and they’ll typically fall into the category of specialty games on those sites.

Many lottery operators and dedicated scratchcard sites offer a broad game selection. Operators often give you extra playing funds in deposit bonuses at all these sites.

Here are a few that deliver a wide range of games with real cash prizes. They’re all respected operators with support teams on hand to provide help in case of any queries or issues:

• The National Lottery  – run by Camelot UK Lotteries Limited, this major lottery operator will be well-known to European players, especially those in the UK.
• Mecca Bingo – Mecca Bingo is an online bingo site. Part of the Rank Group gambling company, it’s an operator of land-based bingo clubs and halls with a long history that also runs online bingo rooms. Our Mecca Bingo review concluded that Mecca thoroughly deserves a place on any list of the best places to play bingo and scratchcard games online.
• Gala Bingo – Gala is a name that will be as well-known as Mecca to online bingo players. With an equally long history, it would be hard to split the two competing bingo rooms in any of their key performance indicators. Certainly, Gala has an extensive library of scratch games.
• Prime Scratchcards – An online gambling firm offering traditional casino games like slots and blackjack alongside a varied scratch-off portfolio.
• Lottoland – Lottoland is one of the significant lottery aggregators and also offers several different scratchcard games. Examples include Instant Millionaire, Everyday Payday, £100,000 Cash, and several others. You can buy in from 50p upwards.
• Wild Casino – Thanks to a massive welcome bonus package, frequent promotions, fast and reliable payments, and banking options that include multiple cryptocurrencies, WildCasino has become a wildly popular online casino in a very short period.
• Scratch2Cash – Operating since 2005, Scratch2Cash is a casino operator that states they’re ” the number one choice for scratch card players on the internet”. You can play a range of instant games and scratchcards Including Bejeweled, The 7th Heaven, Lucky Charms, Horoscope and many more.

Aside from these operators, whose core business is online gambling, you can also buy a scratch card from the online stores of major retail operators such as Walmart.

How to buy scratch cards on a website or app

Now we’ve seen some of the developers and their best games, and we know where we might go to play them; it’s worth looking at the process of buying the cards themselves.

We’ll assume that by this time, you’ll already have a gambling account and deposited by some form of payment solution such as a credit card, an ewallet, Bitcoin or an alternative crypto coin. Indeed, making that deposit is the first step in the buying process.

The balance from your deposit and any wins from other gameplay minus any losses will be shown as your current total bank available.

Once you’ve selected the game you want to play from the titles in the library, that game will load. You’ll now be presented with options for how you want to play and what stake. The amount you’ve staked will be taken off your account balance, and you’ll be ready to scratch.

How easy is it to play?

Playing scratchcards is the simplest of all the real money games we’ve covered. The only rules to be aware of are those around eligibility to play (you wouldn’t want to win a jackpot then find out you couldn’t get the money for one reason or another, would you?) and around what constitutes a winning ticket.

The rest is easy – buy the cards and scratch away.

Can you play online scratch cards for free?

You’re unlikely to find any scratchcards you can play for a real money prize for no cost anywhere online. But there are ways to play for free with free money.

The catch is that it’s not usually entirely free money. The method I’m referring to involves the use of deposit bonuses.

Bonuses are a form of promotion used by almost all gambling operators to attract and retain customers. Typically they’ll appear in the form of match bonuses, where the operator will match the value of your first deposit, and sometimes subsequent deposits, with free money up to a specified percentage of the deposit amount. This site has a good list of current offers. 

That’s great for building up a gaming bankroll. But some types of bonuses work in different ways. In our case, where we’re looking for a free way to play a scratch card game, the one that’ll be most interesting is a free play welcome bonus. This is where a bonus is awarded not as cash in your account but as credits to play specific scratch games.

One of the best sites for scratch card bonuses is www.primescratchcards.co.uk, offering 40 free cards on your first deposit.

How to win at scratch cards – Strategy and tips

There are not too many strategies you can employ that would enhance your chances of winning with online scratch cards. They are a game of luck or chance, and no skill is involved. Whether you succeed is down to luck, and it definitely doesn’t matter how you scratch off the card covering and reveal the symbols.

There are some key ways to improve your chances of getting a scratchie that will win you a cash prize, though:

1. Understand the rules of each game

The basic idea behind scratch-off tickets is always the same; various scratch-ticket games require you to remove the coating to reveal portions of the scratch areas and the symbols hiding behind them. There’s a chance of invalidating your card if you scratch too many areas. For example, if the game rules for your scratchcard specify you need to expose three out of four areas, your card will become invalid if you make a mistake and expose all four of the prize areas.

If your ticket was a losing one, that mistake is no big deal. You can imagine the pain, though, if you rubbed off the covering and got a match of three winning symbols only to mistakenly rub off another one and turn your ticket into a losing one.

That problem will only potentially happen offline since, with online tickets, the scratching and wins are automated. Any win gets automatically credited to your gaming account once it has been revealed.

2. Find out if the higher value prizes have already been won

One great thing about scratchcards is that there are usually ways to identify whether any high-value prizes are still in circulation. Details of how many prizes were available at different prize amounts are generally published when games start. And there are ways to find out which ones have been won.

So, given that tickets will still be sold even after the bigger wins have already been won, it makes sense only to buy cards with higher-end cash prizes unclaimed.

3. Buy more scratchcards

With many gambling games, the more you play, the more likely you are to get a win. Taking that approach with the original gambling games you’ll find in an online casino is unwise, but with scratchcards, it’s a more valid approach.

Of course, I’d recommend you only try this strategy with the cash you can afford to lose. Although some games have pretty good odds of holding a winning ticket, the overall odds are still not in your favour. There are chances you’ll get lucky, but more chances that you’ll lose.

4. Make the best use of bonuses and promotional offers

any scratchcard operators offer bonuses to new account holders, often doubling your deposit amount. In some cases, you may even be able to play free scratch cards if the operator offers a no-deposit bonus.

Obviously, with more betting money in your account (and perhaps even ‘free’ money), you’re better positioned to buy more cards and increase your chances of a win through volume and the law of averages.

Remember that there are some drawbacks to gambling bonuses. Typically, terms and conditions around their use are in force designed to keep you playing and prevent or delay a withdrawal. The central t & c is that of the wagering requirement, meaning you have to bet a specified number of times through the value of the initial bonus before taking any cash out.

5. Choose Wisely

Not all scratch-off games are the same. Each game has different odds, and often the higher-priced cards offer a better probability of winning.

If you could choose between buying ten one-dollar scratch cards, each of which has a 1 in 10 chance of winning, or buying one ten-dollar scratch ticket with a 1 in 3 chance, which purchase has the better odds?

Many players believe that if they purchase ten different tickets, it means that they are enhancing their chances. But that doesn’t statistically hold true. In reality, each one-dollar ticket has only a 1 in 10 chance. In other words, the odds for each one-dollar ticket remain the same: 1 in 10. So if you are planning on spending ten dollars, in this case, the ten-dollar ticket really does have better odds.

6. Cash out your profits

It’s never wise to tempt fate. Many players that experience big gambling wins go on to lose all their winnings. They let that feeling of good fortune overrule their better judgment. The golden rule is – to be prepared to take your winnings and withdraw them while you have the chance. If you still want to play, then at least withdraw some of the winnings, and then it won’t be so painful to lose what you had left.

Are scratchcard games legal?

In the US, you need to be careful with any form of gaming for real money prizes. It’s well known that you can legally buy cards that run alongside lotteries. However, since scratchies are based on pure luck, they will fall under US laws designed to prevent unlawful betting.

That said, some US states have legalised online gambling, and some residents can now legally play the games. Currently, over 40 US states and the District of Columbia operate some form of State Lottery that’ll also provide the opportunity to buy and play instant win scratch tickets. In most states, you’ll have to visit a land-based retailer to purchase tickets, but some states like a Georgia, Michigan, Virginia, and Philadelphia have already started online operations.

This page at BettingUSA does an excellent job of clearly identifying which states legally sell scratch-offs online.

Throughout the rest of the world, the regulations around online gambling vary from region to region. There are no restrictions on online gambling in the United Kingdom and Ireland, provided you are over the legal age.

Wherever else you are, before playing, you should check any website’s Terms and Conditions page for specific details and be aware of the regulations of the country that you reside in.

Are the games fair?

Hmmm. Are they ‘fair’ is a good question.

Indeed, they’re fair from the perspective of anyone who buys one having an equal chance to win (with the proviso that specific higher amounts may already have been won and therefore would no longer be available).

Are they fair from an ‘odds of winning’ perspective is another question. They’re pure games of chance and have always been designed so that the operator running them will take in more purchase fees than they’ll have to pay.

There’s no doubt the odds of winning a jackpot-type figure are heavily against you.

In the UK, lottery and scratchcard operators are regulated by the UK Gambling Commission. The regulatory rules ensure that they follow strict codes of practice. One of these rules ensures a game termination process is followed when the number of remaining top prizes reaches a specified level.

Pros and cons – Benefits and drawbacks

There are many pros and cons to playing scratchcard games. They’ve become popular for several reasons:

• They can be cheap to buy, with prices ranging from free up to a few pounds.
• Prizes can go from €/$/£1 up to many hundreds of thousands.
• There’s no skill or strategy involved.
• They make good birthday and Christmas gifts.
• They’re easy to play.
• The odds of winning at least something are fairly good.

On the drawbacks side they:

• Can be addictive and lead to gambling-related problems.
• The odds of winning big are heavily against you.

The biggest drawback is that of gambling addiction that’s always a risk where wagering money on bets is concerned. There are plenty of ways to get help if you believe you might succumb to gambling addiction. Read the responsible gambling page for more information, or visit the website of the UK gambling commission of Great Britain to see how they tackle the problem.

For further support on problem gambling, you can visit:

• Gamcare – www.gamcare.org.uk
• Gamble Aware – www.begambleaware.org

Innovations 

There’s not a great deal an operator can do to be innovative with their cards; they are what they are. Most differences in cards focus on their design and the types of symbols that are displayed. In this respect, it would be interesting to see future slot machines with scratchcard themes.

There was one fascinating innovation that appeared first in 2015. It arose from the mobile gaming world and centred on the ability to shake off symbols rather than erase coverings by pointing and clicking.

The scratchcard game in question was called ‘Pan for Gold’. It was released by a company called Core Gaming in late 2015, featuring gameplay that let you choose from one of six locations to go gold hunting. You could then shake or swipe your mobile device to reveal the symbols, and a match of three correct symbols would win the cash amount shown. 

Sadly, that innovative game disappeared without a trace. It remains to be seen whether it will ever appear again.

One

Videos 

This video below titled ‘top ten skill games’ shows just some of the games you can play for cash prizes, one of which is a scratch game with a top prize of £100,000. It’s one of many videos on Youtube that give some more visual information about lottery-based scratchcard tickets.

How do you find new scratchcards?

Given the vast number of card variants, it’s hard to see how anyone could have tried all the available games. But suppose you’re the type of plat’s always on the lookout for a fresh experience, and you’ve exhausted all the current options. In that case, this site puts some effort into keeping an up-to-date listing showing new scratchcards issued by the UK’s National Lottery.

The only way to truly keep on top of any new games is to scan websites and news or PR releases for anyone announcing something new. You can also keep an eye on announcements from software developers on any new game titles they’ve built for an idea of what’s coming up for release. Social media networks can also be a good source of info on new games.

Social media and other resources

It won’t be a surprise to find multiple mentions of scratchcards across the different social media networks. Those networks can be great resources for learning about winners, big wins, what games are available and the remaining unclaimed prizes.

• Facebook
• Instagram
• Twitter
• Linkedin

Aside from the social networks, several studies have been compiled and released that contain valuable data and other information about the games.

• This article at the National Library of Medicine looks at the phenomenon of the near-miss where big-prize winning symbols are revealed but fall one short of a full winning reveal, something which all scratchcard players will experience many times.
• Here’s a fascinating, in-depth study that was a thesis for design implications for digital scratch-card games.

More FAQ

This page has been structured so that it should have answered most questions you’d have about our subject. However, to get it as comprehensive as possible, there are a few more frequently asked questions we’ll need to cover:

Summary

Not one of the greatest real money games; however, online scratchcards have their place on the list. Getting a scratchcard instant win is unlikely to make you rich or land a fortune, but the buy-in to play can often be low, and there are good chances of at least winning small instant cash prizes.

There are no fundamental limitations to how you can play other than if they’re not legal where you live. Indeed, you’ll be able to play a virtual scratch from pretty much any device, from an Apple iPhone to an Android smartphone to a laptop or desktop computer.

There are plenty of places to play scratch-off tickets and hundreds of variations. If you are keen to have a go, there should be some exciting options to play around with, while if they aren’t your first choice of game, then plenty of other gambling games will pay out fast too.