Scratch cards
An instant lottery is a gambling where the tickets with a closed layout are used. In order to become aware of your result, you need to scratch off an opaque covering. The money is paid out on the spot or at the certified centers. You may buy tickets at the post-office, shops, kiosks, petrol stations and at the banks.
Outside the Commonwealth of Independent Countries, it is a common thing to get the payouts behind the shop counter. Besides, they may be occasionally given out at the banks.
Online gambling apparatus have been growing in popularity since the 2000s. They are virtual machines imitating the process of the game where traditional paper cards were used, including 3WOW!, 7th Heaven, Pirateʼs Hoard, Wizard of All, Golden Fortune, Monopoly X3 etc. These slot machines differ in gameplay, sound and external design. However, they are based on the necessity of guessing a winning scratch card out of the list/table available on the screen.
Historical background or where it had all started
Gambling lotteries have been known from the earliest times. In ancient Rome, they were used to replenish the municipal budget for building roads and water bridges. There were also free lotteries. In order to demonstrate the Julius Caesar’s generosity, poor people received «the paper of happiness». One or several lucky persons were given out a prize.
The first tickets in their current habitual form appeared at the beginning of the XVII century in Europe. Technologies which would allow creating an opaque covering have not existed yet at that moment. For this reason, it was decided to use rectangular double sheets which required printing out. Paper squares with graphite covering appeared at the end of the XIX century. They were used to raise funds for the budget of the country where they were sold. However, as time went by, enterprising people took everything into their own hands and organized private drawings.
You can buy lottery scratch tickets everywhere except Afghanistan, Indonesia, Algeria and some other countries where gambling games are banned. Over the 2000 to 1990 period by this day, online lotteries with closed layout appeared in the Internet. It is possible to open it right after paying out your spin and immediately withdraw money if your luck holds.
PowerCash game design
What should I do with scratch cards?
Firstly, buy a ticket. They are sold at the banks, post-offices, retail networks, offices of the company responsible for carrying out lottery drawings, and in the Internet. Further, you may scratch off a graphite opaque covering using your fingernail or a coin. Avoid damaging cardboard paper. After removing a protective covering, the layout may turn out to be:
- It means you lost this game;
- Contain the amount of money which you will get as a prize;
- 2-6 pictures or numbers. As a rule, at least 2-3 numbers/pictures should match up.
If you had luck, your card will be brought to a cashier. He will check it and give out the required amount of money. If your purchase was made not at the post-office, banks or the company’s representative office, you will probably need to apply to one of these establishments. Sometimes retail stores provide services by themselves but till reaching the particular money limit. Detailed information is provided on the reverse of a card.
Generally, you can get no more than $1000 at the place where your card was bought. If you were lucky to win more than the above-mentioned amount, contact the manufacturing company’s office. Note that a cardboard sheet includes several layouts which may be scratched off. One of them is meant for the drawing protection, so it is strictly forbidden to remove it. Such warning is usually indicated on the front or back of paper. You are allowed to open only that area which is marked as «scratch here».
How to raise your winning chances
Unfortunately, it is impossible. There is nothing to do but rely on your intuition and luck. You may illuminate paper in order to see what is hidden under an opaque covering but it is not legal. There are known cases when people were handed serious sentences for such cheating. A probability of effective purchase cannot be calculated as well, because it is only the organizer who knows the precise amount of winning cards in the lot. According to unofficial calculations, money is hidden only in 15-20 of 100 cards and 8-10 of them are paid off (the payouts may be less than your ticket price). Practically the same goes for virtual machines. A gambler has no impact on the outcome.
The only way of raising your winning chances at the casino is to choose slot machines with a progressive jackpot. In clubs having this type of a top prize, the bank gets charges on each bet. When the sum of money is reaching the particular point (it depends on the casino if it is floating or fixed one), happiness catches a gambler unawares.
Hit the Bank – this is a game that all the details reminiscent of dollars
Characteristic features of online gambling machines
Technically, the classic paper variant differs from slot machines only by the necessity of scratching an opaque layer on your own. When it comes to gambling machines, it is enough to click on the right place on the screen. It is easier to do it at casinos, as you can regulate the amount of your bets and the number of tries.
Casinos provide free demo modes for the users to have an opportunity of testing an online machine before betting on money. You can withdraw funds on payment service providers’ purses or bank accounts. Casinos accept PayPal at most.
In order not to experience disappointment from using scratch cards at online casinos, always check if they have a license. This information is available on all pages of the website footer or in the «User Agreement» section. It is desirable that the chosen club use the software of tried and tested developers which value their reputation.
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