What is more fulfilling than catching fun and excitement while making lots of money? Your answer is as good as mine, nothing. So hurry, make millionaires and billionaires out of yourselves with less pressure within a twinkle of an eye with lottery scratcher which gives you easy money and is one of the most popular lottery games around the world. According to reports and statistics, in 2014, it is the instant scratch-off games that raked in almost all the money in the US. About 60% to 70% of the $70 billion spent on state lotteries went to instant games and not Powerball or Mega million.
Quick Facts About Lottery Scratchers
- Lottery scratchers doesn’t allow number selection
- The odds of winning instant lottery are relatively higher
- Odds of some games changes as bought scratch off tickets are removed
How Lottery Scratchers Work
Scratch off games does not allow number selection. It makes use of lottery scratch cards which is a small card made from thin paper card, plastic and coating to hide winning numbers, letters or symbols. All you have to do is to scratch off the coating covering the pins. The ticket indicates if you win or not and you get your prize instantly.
Odds of Winning
The odds of winning instant lottery are relatively higher than that of most lottery jackpots. Instant lottery pays out about 70% of its ticket money while only about half of the ticket money spent on lottery jackpots is given to the winners.
The odds of winning prizes in instant lottery games also differs although it is approximately 1 in 3. In other words, there is approximately one third winners for all tickets sold for each game. This does not indicate that if a player purchases three instant lottery tickets, the third will win. The odds of winning the top prize is almost 1 in a million.
The odds of some games changes as bought scratch off tickets are removed from the remaining tickets that are left. It is almost impossible to track odds when a game is launched because of change that occurs in the number of purchased Lottery tickets. You may check the back of your ticket for the overall game odds.
Design of Lottery Scratchers Card
Lottery scratch cards comes in different design with each game. This is done to attract players. The theme of the games may be linked to sporting events, television shows, poker cards or horse racing. Concrete security measures are also put in place during lottery cards design.
Some states also allow players to take part in designing the scratch cards. For example, the Oregon State Lottery held a "Designer Scratch-it Contest" for the general public in 1993. The winners of this contest were judged based on the originality, style of play, graphics and theme of the design. Irrespective of the design, scratchers game is created to be played by peeling off coatings to show hidden symbols, letter and numbers to match preselected winning symbols located on the ticket.
The tickets are made and designed with security precautions to avoid fraud. The design process must take into account the different methods used to tamper with game security. One method used in breaching game security is to decipher the relationship between the ticket’s serial number and the ticket lottery number. The serial numbers of the ticket are used by lottery companies and states to track ticket distribution from the company to the retailers and also for making account of sold and unsold tickets. The tickets also include information that display that tickets are only valid for specific dates and games. The serial numbers really help in tracking lost, stolen and inappropriately claimed tickets. If players understand the relationship between the serial number and the lottery number, it could give them ideas on how to locate numbers with higher probability of winning.
Another technique employed by players to breach ticket security is by trying to see the lottery numbers without scratching the surface of the ticket. This is done by using candle lights on the tickets and trying to view the lottery numbers through either the front or back covering.
The player may also use the delamination technique to separate the different layers of the ticket to reveal the winning numbers. This method can also be used after the owner has discovered a winning number and returned the ticket to claim his prize. In this case, the player could remove the ticket’s front layer containing the winning number and glue it to a new back layer that has another name and address of the winner.
Another method of breaching lottery security is by using solvents such as ketones, esters, alcohols and acetates to reveal the winning numbers through the concealing coat. This method is also called wicking.
The above security breaches have made the security measures employed by lottery companies almost unbreachable. These security measures vary with each game. One of the security measures is to choose serial numbers that don’t reveal winning status information of the ticket. Lottery companies do this by randomly choosing numbers from computer generated symbols. This prevents players from deciphering the relationship between the serial number and the lottery number.
To prevent wicking, candling and delamination, thick foil coatings are used to cover the lottery numbers to prevent candle lights from revealing the winning numbers. Another way to prevent lottery security breach is to use opaque coverings together with confusion patterns printed on the back and front of the ticket. These confusion patterns are randomly designed to conceal the lottery numbers when light is shined on the ticket.
Lottery Scratchers Winners Stories
Here is a story of two lottery scratchers winner’s stories:
- Craig Skwarczynski wins $5 million from a $20 lottery scratcher ticket.
Skwarczynski bought his tickets from Surf City Liquor at 20972 Brookhurst St. on Wednesday. He gave his wife, Kendra the ticket, to help in scratching. She scratched the ticket to reveal the $5-million win before passing the ticket back to Skwarczynski.
When interviewed, the couple said that they had viewed playing lottery as a fun hobby that rewards them with winnings in hundreds of dollars occasionally, that they are emotional with this big win.
- Ramon Ruezga is another man who won $1 million from a $10 scratcher ticket.
He bought his winning Xtreme Multiplier Scratcher at the 7-11 at 1002 West Evelyn Avenue in Sunnyvale, state lottery officials announced on Monday, calling it a "Good 'Little' Lottery Win in Santa Clara County!"
It didn't take long for Ruezga to decide what he will do with his windfall. Lottery officials quoted him as saying, "I plan to buy something… a little house outside the city."
History of Scratch Cards
Scratch card was created by some American computer scientists in the 1970’s. The first tickets were made using what is known as the manual randomization techniques. In the year 1974, John Koza and Daniel Bower led Scientific Games Corporation to produce the first computer generated instant lottery game. Massachusetts State Lottery also launched one of the first scratch off lottery tickets called The Instant Game in mid-1970. This made so many national and state lotteries to begin offering instant games.
The first cards were coated with an environmentally unsafe solvent based coating. In late 1980s, Jerome Greenfield created a safe water-based coating which is environmental friendly and scratches off easily.
In 1987, AstroMed, Inc. of West Warwick, Rhode Island Patented the instant scratch-off lottery ticket. This made lottery scratch card more popular. Scratch cards are now being used as means of advertisement, as means of concealing recharge card pins and many other prepaid services.
Currently, there are two main manufacturers of instant lottery tickets: Scientific Games Corporation which produces in the USA, Chile, UK, Germany, Canada, Brazil and Australia; and Pollard Banknote, which produces in the USA and Canada. Smaller manufacturers are scattered all over North America, Europe, and Asia.
Traditionally printed scratch cards are now becoming obsolete with the advent of computer and internet. Many lottery companies have delved into offering scratch off tickets online to reach millions of players all over the world, to eliminate geographical restrictions and to aid convenience & comfort. PrimeScratchCards launched the first online lottery scratch cards in November 2005.
By 2010 different versions of online versions of virtual scratch card games used by Micromedia flash and java were available on the internet. All you just need to do is to buy virtual card on the net and redeem your prizes same way.
Lottery Scratchers FAQ
Where do I buy my tickets?
Scratchers ticket are sold in designated retail locations in different countries. You can also buy your scratchers from online retail outlets.
How much do tickets cost?
You can buy scratchers ticket for as low as $1 and as much as $20. Although the cost varies with each game.
Where can I find out how to play?
There is free information online on how to play scratch-off games. Each game varies with different instructions.
What can I win?
You can win cash prizes, vacation trips, free tickets and merchandise.
How do I know if I'm a winner?
To become a winner, just match three symbols or numbers with the pre-selected winning symbols. Instructions are always printed on the ticket. You may also seek help from the lottery agent.
What if my ticket is lost or stolen?
Make sure you sign the back of your tickets to claim your prize because unsigned tickets can be claimed by anyone.
What are your chances with lottery scratchers?
It is very normal to doubt if you really have a good chance winning money with lottery scratchers. However, there is the saying that you lose 100% of shots you fail. In addition, you can buttress your chances of winning by taking a look at our Lottery Comparison page and find more valuable information about operators where you can win big with Lottery scratchers.
Conclusion: Can I Really Win With Lottery Scratchers
Catching fun and excitement while making lots of money is the real deal with lottery scratchers. In this article, we examined how lottery scratchers work, the odds of winning instant lottery game, how lottery scratch cards are designed and stories from winners of scratch games. We also traced the history of scratch cards. This article concludes with frequently asked questions about lottery scratchers.
