A Brief History of the Evolution of Scratch Cards

For decades, scratch cards have been one of the most popular game types available, thanks to their universal appeal and instant notification of whether or not you’ve won. Scratch cards have been adapted to be played online with great success as they are becoming an increasingly favored form of entertainment. With this in mind, let’s look at how it all began for the scratch card by following the high points in its history.

Starting with the present day, the most prominent highpoint in the history of scratch cards is arguably the present day. This is due to the emergence of online gaming as it has allowed for much greater accessibility in the form of bingo scratch card games. Whereas, before, purchasing scratch cards was dependant on when the stores opened, it is now the norm to purchase one at any time online.

The likes of Paddy Power offer a variety of online scratch cards to choose from, including some based on popular television game shows including Deal Or No Deal. The enduring popularity of online scratch cards is partly because the premise has remained the same and it has simply improved by having more variation and availability.

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Now, jumping back in time, it was only in 1974 when the Scientific Games Corporation produced the first cards generated through a computer. This was a high point in its history as computerized random generation cut the production time of the scratch card. Previously, the original tickets were produced using randomizing of the manual kind. Then, over a decade later in 1987, the first patent was issued for the instant scratch-off lottery ticket in the US to Astro-Med Inc, now Astro Nova, of Rhode Island. Thus the physical scratch card that we know today was created and its popularity steadily increased from there.

Of course, no two instant-win games are the same and over time, different variants of the instant lottery emerged, which were based around differing themes. Essentially, with this system being a fast-paced game, the gimmick of scratching the panel off to reveal potential rewards may have become old extremely quickly. Therefore, as time has passed, the types of scratch cards have diversified in order to appeal to different audiences.

As time has passed, this type of scratch and win game has evolved to not just be involved with casino games or lotteries, they have since started to be employed as a means of promotion. They can be used by businesses as a clever marketing tool, as is the case with the McDonalds Monopoly promotion and their instant-win prizes. Alternatively, they can be used for something as simple as revealing business information, encouraging active engagement amongst potential customers. The discovery of how diverse their uses can be was another high point for the scratch card.

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Scratch cards have certainly come a long way in the last few decades, especially given their ability to explore other industries and become a useful part of marketing campaigns. However, they’re still a prominent means of quick and easy game-play, especially when concerning online casino or bingo gaming.