Scratch cards have become a very popular form of gambling

Scratch cards have become a very popular form of gambling over the last twenty five years or so, not only by purchasing scratch cards from the local national lottery retail outlets but also on line with most major on line gambling sites. Since 1987 when the first instant win national lottery scratch cards were introduced, the range of designs and gambling chances have increased dramatically, as has the maximum instant win payout. The original scratch cards cost just one pound, but the gambler can now gamble up to five pounds on each scratch card in the UK and up to ten euros in Ireland with instant win prizes up to 250,000 euros. Most people believe that the success of scratch cards as a form of gambling is entirely due to the instant win factor, which can be likened to gambling on just one hand of poker or blackjack, or one play on a slot machine. The major on line gambling sites all now offer a range of instant win scratch card games, with stakes as little as 0.1 euros which allow even the most conservative gambler a chance of gambling on simple games with instant win payouts. Ladbrokes offer two scratch card games, each with 9 symbols of which the gambler must match 3, with instant wins up to 200 times the original stake and even 500 times the original stake with 3 jackpot symbols. Paddy Power offer no less than seven scratch card games, all with different themes ranging from popular television programmes to sports such as golf and horse racing. Some of these scratch cards have 9 symbols, others have just 6, but all these scratch cards offer the gambler instant win gambling opportunities at stakes which the gambler can choose depending on their mood. For the higher stake gamblers, Party gaming under the Party Casino banner offers the opportunity of gambling up to $ 500 on a single scratch card with their Hollywood stars scratch card, or up to $ 250 on their Formular Won scratch card. Scratch card gambling on line enables the gambler to choose how much they wish to gamble and provides instant win enjoyment.