Online scratchcards explained

What online scratchcards are

An online scratchcard copies the paper card you might buy in a newsagent. You choose a stake, the game shows a covered card, and you reveal the panels by clicking, swiping or pressing a reveal-all button. If the revealed symbols or amounts match a winning combination in the pay table, you win that prize. Most games take seconds from start to finish.

At online casinos, scratchcards sit in the instant-win part of the lobby, alongside games such as Slingo, crash games and plinko. Several slot studios also make them: Hacksaw Gaming lists scratchcards and instant-win games among its products, and Peter & Sons lists scratch cards alongside slots and crash games. Our specialty games hub covers the whole family.

How an online scratchcard result is decided

When you start a game, the casino’s software asks the random number generator for an outcome, and that outcome determines what the card will reveal. The animation that follows simply shows you a result that already exists. Whether you scratch the panels one at a time, in a different order or all at once makes no difference.

The Gambling Commission’s technical standards set requirements for how games generate random outcomes (opens in a new tab), and games are tested before they go live. Our pages on random number generators and how games are tested explain the process.

Because the result is fixed at the start, a card that shows two jackpot symbols before the third panel is not ‘nearly’ a jackpot. The outcome was a losing one from the moment you pressed play.

Casino scratchcards against National Lottery scratchcards

Two quite different products share the name. National Lottery scratchcards and online Instant Win Games are run under the National Lottery licence. Online scratchcards at a casino site are offered by remote casino operators. The rules, prize structures and game makers differ, so it helps to know which you are looking at.

The age change for the National Lottery came from a December 2020 government decision to raise the minimum age for all its games, scratchcards and online Instant Win Games included, from 16 to 18. The government response to the consultation (opens in a new tab) planned for online sales to 16- and 17-year-olds to stop in April 2021, with the legal change in force from 1 October 2021.

Online scratchcard odds and RTP explained

Scratchcards are often described by their ‘overall odds’, such as ‘1 in 4’. That figure counts every winning card, including prizes that only give your stake back. It says nothing about how much is paid. The figure that measures cost is RTP: the share of all stakes the game pays back over the long run. The gap to 100% is the house edge.

The example below is invented to show the method. It is not any real game. Imagine a £1 card with this prize structure for every 100,000 cards played.

Here the overall odds are 24,721 winners in 100,000, about 1 in 4. But almost half those wins are £1, which only returns your stake. Cards that pay more than you spent number 12,721, so the chance of finishing a card in profit is about 1 in 7.9. And the game pays out £88,000 for every £100,000 staked: an RTP of 88% and a house edge of 12%. The top prize lands once in 100,000 cards.

What online scratchcards cost in pounds

Average cost per card is stake × house edge. Instant games are quick, so the number of cards per hour matters as much as the edge. The table assumes 200 cards an hour purely for illustration, and uses example RTPs, not figures for any particular game.

Two lessons stand out. The RTP difference between games can triple the cost, and stake size multiplies everything. Real sessions swing far above and below these averages, which is what volatility describes. Our cost per hour page compares the same sums for table games and slots.

How to play online scratchcards

1. Open the game and read its help screen for the rules, the pay table and the RTP.
2. Check the stake range and pick the lowest stake that suits your budget.
3. Set a session budget and a time limit before you start.
4. Press play to buy a card; the result is decided at this point.
5. Reveal the panels by scratching or using reveal-all; the order does not matter.
6. Check any win against your stake: a prize equal to your stake is not a profit.
7. Stop when the budget or time limit is reached, even partway through a run.

From 17 January 2025 autoplay was banned for all online casino games, so each card must be started individually, and you cannot play several games at the same time. Our page on the autoplay ban explains why.

Online scratchcard myths

• Near misses mean a win is close: the outcome was fixed before the reveal, and a near miss is just a losing card.
• A card is due to pay after a losing run: each game is independent, with no memory of earlier cards; see independent events.
• Scratching in a certain order helps: the result already exists, so order is irrelevant.
• High overall odds mean a good game: overall odds include stake-back prizes; RTP is the real measure.
• Raising the stake after losses brings it back: that only raises the amount exposed to the edge. Read about chasing losses.

UK rules for online scratchcards

Online scratchcards are covered by the same player protections as other online gambling. You must be 18 or over, and your age and identity must be verified before you can deposit or play, including free-to-play demo versions. Credit cards cannot be used to gamble online; the ban, in force since 14 April 2020, excludes only non-remote lotteries such as scratchcards bought in a shop that also sells other goods. UK-licensed sites must ask you to consider a deposit limit before your first deposit.

The £5 and £2 online stake limits were written for slots. For scratchcards, check the stake range in the game itself. Read more about the credit card ban, age verification and game design rules explain these protections.

How many UK adults play scratchcards

Scratchcards remain one of the most widely played gambling products in Britain. The government’s 2023 gambling white paper, High stakes: gambling reform for the digital age (opens in a new tab), reported that in the year to December 2022, 7.7% of adults had played scratchcards in the past four weeks, compared with 5.0% who had played online slot-style games or instant wins.

Popularity is not the same as value. A familiar format can still carry a large edge, so the RTP check above applies to every card. Our white paper page covers the wider reforms.

Where to play online scratchcards

The partner offers on this page are slot offers: their free spins work only on the selected slots named in the terms, not on scratchcards. Our checked data does not confirm which partners carry scratchcards, so check the casino’s game lobby and each card’s help screen for its RTP. 18+ and terms apply.

PlayOJO offers new UK customers (excluding Northern Ireland) 80 free spins on Big Bass Bonanza with a first deposit of at least £10, at 10p per spin, with no wagering and winnings paid in cash. Coral Casino offers 100 free spins at 10p on selected games to new players who deposit and bet £10 or more on slots between 1 October 2026 and 1 February 2027; the spins must be accepted within 48 hours and used within 7 days, winnings are wager-free, and some payment methods are excluded. Ladbrokes Casino offers 50 free spins a day for 10 days, up to 500 in total, when new customers deposit and play £10 on slots; each spin is worth 10p, must be claimed by 23:59 daily and lasts 7 days, with no wagering and some payment methods excluded.

Scratchcards are quick, so costs can build fast. If you need support, GamCare’s free helpline and chat (opens in a new tab) and the National Gambling Helpline on 0808 8020 133 are open around the clock.

18+. Every casino game has a built-in house edge, so over time you should expect to lose what you stake. Set a budget before you play and stop when it’s gone: safer gambling tools and support. Free, confidential help: National Gambling Helpline 0808 8020 133.