Scratch Cards History

Today there are several online game websites that provide free scratch cards to both players and visitors enhancing the thrill for online gamers...

Scratch cards have ruled the hearts of many traditional and online gamers for a long time. They are immensely popular and an integral part of the gaming industry. In the recent past people has to go to a retailer to pick up the card however now they get the privileges of finding these cards online. These virtual scratch cards are equally popular as their traditional retail shop counterparts and widely in demand among online and traditional land based gamers today.

Scratch cards have an interesting history. They were invented by Jack Koza a computer scientist and Daniel Bower a retail promotions expert. Jack Koza was the second person in the world to get his degree in computer science in 1964. In those days computer science was not very popular and in 1972 he earned his PH.D in the same field. In 1973 he together with Daniel Bowel created the Scientific Games Corporation and in 1974 Scratch Cards arrived in the world.

The first client of Scientific Games Corporation was the Massachusetts Lottery Commission. This Lottery system was originally a draw where the tickets were sold and the public had to wait for several weeks to get to know the results. Both Bower and Koza analyzed the human cravings for instant knowledge of lottery results and this was how the concept of scratch cards were invented.

In order to make the number selection a random one, Koza had written an algorithm while Bower primarily contributed to the marketing side of the company. He used his expertise to promote the popularity of scratch cards. He also made them very attractive and this new card became an instant hit. It rose in popularity and the Massachusetts Lottery Commission earned about $2.7 million in a week just by way of revenues.

These scratch cards later were launched in Michigan, New York, Maryland and Illinois. In 1995 it was introduced in the National Lottery in UK. These scratch cards were sold for a sum that ranged between ten pence to two pounds. The highest price won by using these cards were two million pounds.

The journey from 1974 to 2011 for scratch cards has been a very successful one. Today life without scratch cards is impossible. There are now many variations of these cards. Some of them are scratch cards, gift cards and scratch and win cards. These cards are different however the basic idea of these cards remains the same.

Today there are several online game websites providing free scratch cards to both players and visitors. This enhances the thrill for online gamers. The best part here is that one can win instantly when they scratch a card. There are some cards that are associated with huge jackpots and they allow more than one player to win the game. There are some websites providing gamers with cash bonus match and free cash. Gamers also love to try their luck with scratch cards as it gives them the unique emotions of suspense and excitement when they scratch the card and win a prize!