A scratchcard (also called a scratch off, scratch ticket, scratcher, scratchie, scratch-it, scratch game, scratch-and-win or instant game) is a small token, usually made of cardboard, where one or more areas contain concealed information: they are covered by a substance (usually latex) that cannot be seen through, but can be scratched off.
Applications include gambling (especially lottery games), quizzes, and to conceal PINs for telephone calling cards and other prepaid services.
In some cases, the entire scratchable area needs to (or may be) scratched to see whether a prize has been won, or to reveal the secret code; the result for the cardholder does not change based on what portions are scratched off or not. In other cases, selected areas have to be scratched; this may apply in a quiz, where the area corresponding to the right answer is scratched, or in gambling, where depending on which areas are scratched one wins or loses. In these cases the card becomes invalid if too many areas are scratched. After losing one can scratch all areas to see if, how, and what one could have won with this card.
Such cards are vulnerable to attack by devices which allow individuals to see through the concealing substance without physically disturbing it.
Simple scratch cards require the player to match three (or varying numbers) of the same prize amounts. If this is accomplished, they win that amount. More complicated scratchcards have several different ways to win on one card. Other scratchcards involve matching symbols, pictures or words, or are adaptations of popular (card-)games like Blackjack, Poker or Monopoly. Games are also tied to popular themes such as Harley Davidson, Major League Baseball, NASCAR, Marvel Comics and FIFA World Cup.
There are currently two major manufacturers of game tickets: Scientific Games Corporation, with production facilities in the USA, Chile, UK, Germany, Canada, Brazil and Australia; and Pollard Banknote, with production facilities in the USA and Canada. There are several other smaller manufacturers in North America, Europe and Asia.
The low cost of buying a scratchcard is offset by the smaller prizes and lower expected value, compared to casino jackpots or lottery wins. There is a trend towards more expensive scratchcards (20-30USD) that have prizes in the millions of dollars. However, many such "instant" tickets sold in the US, especially in Massachusetts and New York, do not pay top prizes "instantly," but rather over many years, with no cash option (see Win For Life for a description of these types of games).
There are also online versions of the same game which utilize Flash and Java to simulate the experience on a computer.
The other recent change in scratchcards is the increasing attempts to predict which cards have prizes. In the past, scratchcards have been a random impulse purchase. Now there are amateur and professional efforts to track the number of prizes won and cards sold, so people have access to the current odds on all the games available. There have been a number of instances where a series of cards are still available, yet all major prizes have already been reported as found and claimed. Some lotteries actually make this information available to all for free to help promote their games This makes the remaining cards uneconomical to buy as the asking price is unjustified versus the odds of claiming the remaining small prizes. Hypothetically, large early payouts may exceed ultimate sales before expiration of the game card series. However, the typically low odds of winning - which range from less than 1 in 5 to about 1 in 2.5 depending on the price - offset these losses so that the lottery commission or company still turns a profit on the game.
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