Are Online Scratch Cards Rigged?

The Short Answer

Online scratch cards at licensed, regulated casinos are not rigged. These use RNGs independently tested and certified by third parties to provide fair gaming experiences. Casinos have a built-in house edge from the RTP of games, so they do not need to manipulate outcomes to profit.

The nuance of this answer is that online scratch card games from unlicensed casinos have no such guarantees. It is the licence of the software provider and the casino that determines the trustworthiness of the games.

How RNG Actually Works

Every online scratch card game uses a Random Number Generator to determine the outcome of scratch cards. These are software algorithms that calculate a series of numbers at great speed to determine the outcome of each scratch card.

There are two types of RNGs:

• Pseudo-RNGs (PRNGs) use software algorithms to calculate the outcomes. The starting point of these algorithms is derived from hardware data sources. These are used for the majority of online casino games.
• True RNGs use physical devices that utilise phenomena such as thermal noise in a physical component of the software. These have higher levels of entropy in their outcomes. These are used for the rarest of casino games.

The random number generators used by the leading scratch card software providers such as Pragmatic Play, Playtech, and Evolution are essentially the same as a True RNG.

The outcome of scratch cards is determined before the player purchases the scratch card. Even when players scratch the scratch card, the outcome is pre-determined. There is no way of changing the outcome based on how quickly or slowly the player scratches the scratch card.

How RNG Certification Works

Before a scratch card game can be offered at a licensed casino, the RNG powering it must be independently certified. The process involves three layers:

The most well-known and respected testing laboratories for scratch card software are: eCOGRA, iTech Labs, GLI, BMM Testlabs, and NMi Gaming.

How to Verify a Game Is Certified

House Edge vs "Rigged" — What's the Difference?

Many people believe that the house always wins in the long run when playing casino games. This is not the same as the scratch card being rigged to give the casino an advantage over the players.

Casinos feature a house edge in all of their games. This means that if a scratch card game has a 95% RTP, the casino will receive £95 from £100 wagered by players over the course of millions of games. This is a mathematical certainty into the game's design.

A rigged scratch card game will feature an RTP that does not match what is published about the game, the ability of the casino to manipulate the games' outcomes, and the outcomes of scratch card games will be lower than the RTP suggests.

Over time, players will lose money to casinos by playing scratch card games. This is the expected outcome of playing these games. If a player is wondering if the odds are against them when playing scratch card games, the answer is yes. However, if they are wondering if the license of the casino will manipulate the outcomes of games to receive more than the stated house edge, the answer is no.

Red Flags to Watch For

There are several red flags that signal a player to avoid a scratch card website:

• 🚩 No licence displayed — No licence for the website is displayed online. Every licensed gambling company will feature their licence number in the footer of their website.
• 🚩 No RTP information — No information for the RTP of the scratch card games is made available to players online. Licensed scratch card software providers will feature the RTP of each of their games on their websites and player interfaces.
• 🚩 No identifiable game provider — No provider of the scratch card games is made identifiable online. Scratch card games from unregulated software producers will not have quality control and certification seals on their games.
• 🚩 Unrealistic "guaranteed win" marketing — Guarantees that a player will win with the scratch card games. No scratch card games will guarantee that the player will win any amount of money.
• 🚩 Delayed or refused withdrawals — Rogue scratch card casinos will permit players to make deposits to their accounts but will create hurdles for withdrawing their winnings from the scratch games. Players should check the website's reputation on sites such as Trustpilot and AskGamblers prior to making any deposits into the scratch casino's accounts.
• 🚩 No lab certification seal — No seal from a third-party testing laboratory of scratch games is featured on the scratch casino's website. While the lack of a testing laboratory seal does not necessarily mean that a scratch casino is committing acts of fraud, the presence of a third-party seal vouches for the legitimacy and fairness of the website's games.

The Real Risk: Unlicensed Sites

The answer to the question of whether scratch card games are rigged is straightforward but entirely dependent on the licensing of the scratch casino.

If you play at a licensed scratch casino using certified software from providers such as Pragmatic Play or Playtech, the answer is a clear no: scratch card games are not rigged.

If you play at an unlicensed scratch casino, there is no independent way to verify whether the scratch card games are not rigged or whether the stated RTP is to be trusted.

For these reasons, it is best for players to limit their gaming activity to scratch card casinos that are licensed. All of the casinos that we recommend on InstantWins.net have undergone independent reviews to ensure the legitimacy of their licensing and operations.

Summary

Scratch card games at licensed online casinos are not rigged. The software's RNG is independently certified by third parties, and all information regarding the game's RTP is made publicly available. As the license of the scratch casino dictates the trustworthiness of its games, any attempts to rig scratch card games would be against the law.

While the house edge in scratch card games ensures the casinos' profits and the odds are against players, this is true of all casino games and is represented publicly in all games' descriptions. To even the odds, players can choose games with the highest RTP, play only at licensed operators, and avoid developing losses from their gambling activities.