Do you remember those long lines at the local kiosks back in the 1970s? Everybody was so eager to get his turn and be able to draw the “lucky” scratch cards from the middle of the package. And, let’s not forget the overall agitation when somebody was taking his time and was unable to decide what scratch card to purchase. The popularity of the scratch cards is perfectly understandable if you think that you could have instantly won substantial prizes with a minimum investment. In addition, some of the more expensive cards – priced at over 20 bucks– provided the chance of winning millions of dollars.
However, as it turns out, the instant payment was not exactly on the spot, as the winners of scratch cards learned in time. To put it simply, the substantial prizes were paid over the years with no cash options. Even though most people think this is the main reason that contributed to the loss of popularity of scratch cards, the truth is that people found a better and improved version of them: the online scratch cards. The virtual scratch cards gain their notoriety around 2010 when they started to be simulated via Java and Macromedia Flash scripts and when the consequent advantages that resulted from this.
Another noteworthy explanation of why cardboard scratch cards have lost their attractiveness is linked to the numerous misuses and fraudulent practices. Essentially, despite the fact that a customer got a ticket for free, he needed to call a certain number in order to find out the value of the prize. The scheme regarding these phone calls entailed an exaggeratedly high sum per minute and the calls were designed in such a way that the customer had to stay on the phone for several minutes at a time.
Although such scratch cards promoters advertised a wide array of prizes – from highly desirable to rather low sums of cash – in reality, the prizes won via phone claims were mostly lower than the ones promised. This risk is not present in the online scratch cards, considering that you will be playing over the internet and you make a deposit so you are always aware of how much you invested.
Lastly, the fall of cardboard scratch cards and the imminent rise of their online counterparts reside in the overall better odds of winning a prize. While the traditional cards had rather low odds of winning, the online scratch cards do not only provide overall better odds, but 1 in 3 cards is a winner on most sites.
