About scratch cards
Scratch cards (also known as scratchcards, scratchers, or scratch off tickets) are a popular form of gambling entertainment, both in their traditional physical card form and online. The main objective for the player is simple: scratch away the card's surface to unveil cash prizes.
We can trace scratch cards back to the early 1970s, when scientist John Koza and marketing specialist Daniel Bower joined forces to generate a computer-generated instant lottery game for Scientific Games Corporation (SGC). By 1987 this had evolved into the scratch-off lottery ticket we know today, with Astro-Med, Inc. holding the US patent for it back then.
From its simple beginnings, where the object was to scratch away the card's opaque surface to reveal sequences of three or more symbols or numbers, the scratch card branched out into different variations. These included figures from popular board games like Monopoly and major sports such as basketball, soccer and baseball. Winning sums are sometimes huge – one US couple won $10 million from a $30 scratch card in 2015 – although we should remember that prizes are normally only a few dollars, and big wins are extremely rare.
21st century technology brought scratchers into the digital world with online scratch cards. Now players can use their keyboard or mouse to scratch away the surface, or even place the game on 'auto-scratch', similar to 'auto-spin' on slots games, where the computer does it for them. You can find these on both sports betting sites and online casinos, where their range of themes and instant prizes make them a hit with players.
You don't have to play scratch off tickets for money, of course. Many of them offer entertaining themes and features that make them fun to play in their own right. The next section will show you how to find the best free casino games on this page.
Our selection of scratch off games
When you open this page, you'll see a list of scratch cards you can play for fun. There may be a lot for you to look at, so you can narrow down the selection by using the filters on the page.
The 'Game Provider' filter is one of these. You can select a specific developer here to see only their scratchcards: for Nextgen games, for example, just tick the box next to their name. You can also filter them by themes with the 'Game theme' filter, so sports fans might want to select 'Sport' to see just those.
Mobile-friendly casinos are a big part of the industry these days, and you can play virtually all scratch off games on your smartphone or tablet. To find these, go to the 'Advanced filters' section and mark the 'Mobile Devices Supported' box to see eligible games.
Free scratch cards FAQ
Do I need to download extra software to play free scratch card games online?
No, you can play all these games within your desktop or mobile browser so there's no need to download extra software.
Can I be sure of a random result in online scratch off tickets?
Yes. All online scratchers on our database are governed by a Random Number Generator (RNG) that ensures a completely random result every time.
Do free scratch cards work the same as real-money ones?
Do free scratch cards work the same as real-money ones?
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