The History of Scratch Cards

by Tim | Mar 09, 2023

The History of Scratch Cards

For many gamblers, instant-win scratch cards have been a great way to enjoy a quick game that’s fun, affordable, and offers players a chance to win reasonable prizes. But what do you know about the history of this simple, yet exciting way to gamble? Join us as we unpack exactly what scratch cards are and then take you through a journey, from their origins all the way to the introduction of online scratch cards.

What are scratch cards?

Just like playing online roulette, a scratch card is a quick and easy way for people to gamble. These are physical or digital cards that come in a myriad of designs. Still, all follow the same essential format: a card with hidden symbols or numbers, which can be revealed by scratching the card’s surface to discover if you’ve won a prize! 

In their physical form, these cards usually have a wax-like substance on the surface that you can remove with a hard object, such as a coin or a key, to reveal the hidden symbols or numbers. In their digital form, players can use a mouse or touchpad on a computer or their finger on a device with a touchscreen, to rub away the layer that covers the concealed symbols. Depending on the online scratch card that you’ve purchased, different prizes can be won depending on the combination of symbols that you get.

The origins of scratch cards

While one may think that a clever idea like scratch cards has been around for at least as long as slot machines, they’re actually a relatively new way to gamble and were only invented in the mid-20th century. The original cards were manually designed, with companies investing large amounts of time and money in ensuring that the cards offered reasonable and fair odds. However, all of this changed in 1972. 

In the Mental Floss article “A Revealing History of Lotto Scratch-Offs,” writer Jake Rossen tells the story of how scientist John Koza completed his PhD only to be fired from his part-time job at a company that produced scratch cards. These cards were part of weekly lottery draws and had yet to become the instant-win games they are today.

As you may have guessed, the idea of turning scratch cards into games in which the player instantly knew the results of the game fascinated Koza, and he believed lotto players would also find it intriguing. However, he knew he would need help developing the cards and convincing lottery officials to give his idea a chance. Dan Bower, a former coworker, saw the potential in Koza’s idea and helped him to start up Scientific Games Corporation. 

They got to work developing their game and convinced the head of the lotto commission in Massachusetts, William Perrault, to give their game of chance a chance. After Perrault ordered 25 million cards, the two had numerous other challenges to overcome. They managed to figure out solutions to these problems and within seven days of going on sale, their game had almost tripled the amount earned by other lottery-style tickets.

Across the US, scratch cards would go on to become a popular way to gamble, in the process, making the founders of Scientific Games Corporation very, very rich. The scratch cards national lottery became a big hit with players.

Other competitors have since adopted the idea, but there’s absolutely no doubt that credit for the original concept goes to Koza, who revolutionised the way people gamble. National lottery scratch cards online would become a popular choice with those who enjoy games of chance.

However, that wasn’t the end of the story for scratch cards. While these instant-win cards were undoubtedly a popular gambling game, a new technological development would forever change the way people gamble. 

Scratch cards go online

An illustration of computers connected to the internet.

The internet may be a part of everyday life and gambling today, but there was a time when you couldn’t just sit at your computer or pull out your phone to enjoy a quick dance with Lady Luck. In the early 1990s, you actually had to go to a casino, sportsbook, or another gambling venue to play your favourite gambling games. 

Thankfully it didn’t take long for gambling entrepreneurs to realise the potential of the internet after it became publicly accessible in 1994. Online casinos and poker sites appeared a couple of years later, providing gamblers with many of their favourite games when they played at a casino online. 

With regards to online scratch cards, no one knows for sure exactly when they made the leap into cyberspace. Still, these virtual scratch cards offered a virtually identical gaming experience to their physical counterparts. Players could swipe away at a card using a mouse, touchpad, or finger to find out whether they’d won a prize, either by collecting enough symbols or matching numbers. 

Regardless of when they appeared online, digital scratch cards have since become a popular way to gamble, particularly if you have a very limited bankroll and just a few minutes to play. The online version of the game has several other benefits as well, including a greater range of prices to suit all budgets, larger prizes, even faster payouts, and of course, increased accessibility thanks to the ability to play from anywhere (as long as you are connected to the internet). Buying scratch cards online provided people with the necessary opportunity to get their hands on a jackpot. 

Try out great scratch card games at The Phone Casino

With this informative journey into the history of scratchcards complete, it’s time to try your luck at being a scratch card winner! If you’re looking for some of the best scratch cards to win on in the UK, you can’t go wrong with The Phone Casino.  We have dozens of titles with fun and exciting themes and equally fun and exciting prizes! However, if the mood strikes to try something a little different, we also offer online slots, live blackjack, live dealer games, video poker and much more. 

This great library of games makes us one of the best mobile casinos you can find online. Register to enjoy everything on offer at the best online and mobile casino in town!

Register today!

NO Deposit Required

Something went wrong!

We haven’t been able to verify your address details.

The requires all Casinos to carry out Customer Due Diligence at certain intervals. As such, you are required to update your address details on this occasion.

To continue and access your account, we now require you to email us with proof of your address.

Please EMAIL one of the following documents to our Customer Support team:

  • 1. Utility Bill
  • 2. HMRC/Council Letter
  • 3. Bank/Credit card statement

The document cannot be older than 3 months from today's date and it

MUST be a complete document showing your name, address and the date of the document.

Internet downloaded documents are also acceptable in a pdf form.

The following CANNOT be used: Mobile Phone or Satellite/Cable TV bills.

Once our team have reviewed your documents they will be encrypted and stored within our secured server.

We do not pass any of your personal details to any third party marketing company.

Please email your proof of address as outlined above to support@smallscreencasinos.com or use the submit button below. Please include your mobile number or account ID.

Support hours are outlined in full here.

Documents will be processed as a priority.

This message will display until your details have been verified.

The requires all Casinos to carry out Customer Due Diligence at certain intervals. As such, you are required to update your address details on this occasion. Please fill in the fields below to access your account.

Always Play Responsibly

To revise any of your play limits at any time just look for the Responsible Gaming links at the footer of the page or in the Main Menu under Know Your Limits.

Also please do not hesitate to contact us or use the help links provided, if you need any further help or assistance.

You are seeing this message because you have hit a standard limit or because you have changed a particular set limit, a number of times.

Please note: Restrictions on your play can be set at any time from within the main menu.

You can limit play, deposit, losses or wins.

You can even set reminders to tell you how long you have been playing for.

Remember gambling should be fun and you should always play within your means.

By clicking confirm you acknowledge that you have understood you are in control of your gambling

Are you aware you have hit certain limits or that you changed certain limits again and again?

Are you aware that Customer Services are here to assist you if you need help?

Are you aware of your current limits and how you can change them?

Are you in control of your gambling?

Indicate the extent this statement applies to you and your gambling over the last three months.

Data Protection and updates

Data protection laws mean that we need the OK from you to keep you protected and to keep sending you news and updates about great things that are coming up, such as;

 First play of our latest games, casino products and innovations

 Exclusive cash and prize giveaways

 Fantastic exclusive bonuses and rewards designed for you

Simply click the button below to choose how you’d like us to keep you updated. Just give us the go ahead and we’ll keep you in the loop.

If you change your mind in the future you can withdraw your consent at anytime by using the stop or unsubscribe option in the message you receive.

To find out more about how we use and protect your personal information as well as your rights, please see our privacy policy.

VERIFICATION

In order to complete your verification and to process any withdrawal, we require you to upload one of the documents from the list below. This helps us confirm we are paying the right person and protects our players against any authorised use of their account.

Once received, your ID is encrypted and stored within our secured server. We do not pass any of your details to any third party marketing company.

Opening hours are outlined in full on the support menu. Documents will be processed as a priority.

Please email to support@smallscreencasinos.com a copy of your;

  • Driving license
  • Passport
  • National Identity Card
  • Biometric Residence Permit

Great NEWS

It looks like you already have an account with us. The reference number is please either email us or call us on

Please update your mobile number.

In order to continue, we need to validate your current mobile number.

Please enter your mobile number as well as your current pin/password and then select UPDATE to save the changes.

We'll send you a free SMS to validate your mobile number later on.

If you think this message is displaying in error, please click the customer services link at the bottom.

Customer services

 ATTENTION REQUIRED

Congratulations, The Phone Casino is giving you £200.00 in real cash with no restrictions.

You are seeing this message because you are a valued and VIP customer.

Under the terms of its license, the Gambling Commission requires that The Phone Casino request additional information from its VIP customers to meet its licensing obligations.

The Phone Casino UK license number 00-039397-R-319363-002

All UK regulated, online casinos must abide by the regulations issued by the Gambling Commission and as such, you are requested to provide additional information so that The Phone Casino can meet the Gambling Commission’s requirements for:

  • Prevention of money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism; and
  • Social responsibility regulations.

Customer actions:

In order, to claim the free £200.00 cash and to remove this marker from your player account, you are required to provide one or more of the following types of documentation:

  • Copy of a recent p60;
  • Copy of a recent pay slip;
  • Copy of any other source of income (i.e. your company’s latest accounts, income letter from the government etc);
  • Copy of your most recent tax return payment (if self-employed).

Please email these documents to:

support@smallscreencasinos.com

Our team will review your submission and aim to reply to you within 24 hours.

This message will remain in place until the documents have been accepted and you will be notified immediately when this notice has been lifted.

Thank you for your co-operation

The support team is on hand to assist you with any questions you may have. For support click here

 Documents are encrypted & stored securely. Your information is NEVER shared with third party marketing companies.

On Wednesday the 19th this site will undergo maintenance. We aim to complete this as soon as possible. It will start at 8am and should last approximately 3 hours.

Site is currently down for maintenance. We aim to complete this as soon as possible.
Thank you for your patience.