In Australia, instant scratchies (also known as instant win cards and/or scratch cards) are available at retail outlets such as your local news-agency and post office. Australian-owned lottery companies like Tatts, Golden Casket Lottery Corporation, New South Wales Lotteries and South Australian Lotteries offer scratchies in their respective jurisdictions, with many sharing specific games.
But can Australians play instant scratchies via the Internet, rather than having to purchase them at retail outlets?
Our lottery companies re-sell their games to the licensed and regulated national online operator, OzLotteries.com (owned by Jumbo Interactive). However, according to the Interactive Gambling Act (IGA) of 2001, online gaming operators are not permitted to market real money ‘instant win’ style scratch cards to Australian customers, so registered re-sellers like OzLotteries.com do not offer such games.
However, there are a host of offshore licensed Internet casino sites that do offer instant scratchies (even though they are technically in violation of the IGA – although no offshore-based and licensed Internet casino operator has ever been prosecuted under the IGA laws).
Most importantly, it is 100 per cent lawful for Australian residents aged 18 years and older to access and enjoy the services provided by these offshore gaming operators – it is only imperative that Aussies ensure such operators are fully licensed, registered and comply with the strict rules and regulations set out by the respective gaming commissions and independent testing agencies.
Licensed Internet casinos for AUD instant scratchies
The team at AustralianCasinoSite.com has spent countless hours researching and endorsing only the most trusted, secure and esteemed online gaming operators that market high quality and real money instant scratchies, and they are listed below:
Play online scratchies directly via your Web browsers (known as instant play) – you do not need to install any software on to your computers, as the above casino sites use the latest browser-based technology to power high quality and graphically advanced titles.
Each of these online instant scratchies casinos deal directly with the AUD currency, and Australians can make safe deposits and withdrawals via any of the several globally trusted banking methods offered by these operators, such as:
- Visa, MasterCard, Electron and Maestro credit and debit cards
- E-wallets such as ecoPayz, Neteller and Skrill
- Pre-paid cards like PaySafeCard and the EntroPay Virtual Visa Card
- Direct wire transfers via your own online banking systems or external systems such as Citadel Direct and Trustly
All Australians of the legal gambling age can register accounts with the above operators for free (sign up details include username, password, full name, date of birth, email address, country of residence, preferred currency), then fund their account with some money while making the most of the advertised new player welcome promotion (usually a matched deposit cash bonus up to a certain amount), before playing the available scratch cards for real money (or within practice mode to get a feel for how the games operate).
Some of the most popular online instant scratch cards are listed below:
- 7 Gold Scratch
- Ace
- Lucky Double
- Game, Set and Scratch
- Bunny Boiler
- Hand to Hand Combat
- Whack a Jackpot
- Golden Ghouls
- Granny Prix
- Cashapillar scratch card
- Six Shooter Looter
And many more.
Instant play mobile and tablet scratch cards:
Many of the online instant scratchies marketed at our endorsed Internet gaming sites are also available via mobile and tablet devices. Players can use their same accounts to enjoy scratchies and other casino games directly on their portable devices – games that have been optimised for the mobile platform and showcase high quality graphics and audio.
Some of the best mobile and tablet devices to enjoy real cash scratchies include:
- Apple iOS products (iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch)
- Google Android products (Samsung, Sony Ericsson, Motorola, LG, etc.)
- BlackBerry phones
- Windows Phone products
The games are played directly via your device’s Web browsers and without any downloads – simply open you online/mobile casino on your phone or tablet, sign in and play for real money.
You can also create your own Web apps of the entire casino lobby or the specific game of your choice:
Once you have logged into your casino account via your device’s Web browser, open your in-browser settings and select the ‘add to home screen’ option. A Web app will then be created on your home screen which will provide you with direct access to the casino/scratch card game, without having to plug in any messy URLs (the URL tool-bars are also removed for a larger gameplay interface).
Scratch card betting limits
At your local news-agency or post office, cards can usually be bought at the following price levels: $1, $1.10, $2, $3, $4, $5, $10, $15 and $20. Similar price ranges remain in play for online casinos, and the aim of the game remains more or less the same: scratch away matching numbers or symbols, complete puzzles or reveal codes to win cash, in accordance with the specified pay-table.
Online or offline betting?
While betting at land based casinos offers a unique atmosphere and ambiance, real money online casino gameplay is the better choice when it comes to lower house edges and superior player benefits. You also won’t find any scratch card type games at brick and mortar casinos – again, your local news-agency is your best bet for such games. At online casinos however, you will get a much wider variety of instant win scratch cards and the games also boast far stronger odds for the player (online operators do not need to worry about overheads, so they can pay out with superior odds). You will also be granted a great assortment of casino promotions, bonuses, prizes and entry in free competitions and tournaments.
Register an account with www.Guts.com and start enjoying the weird, wacky and wild world of instant win scratchies on the Internet, across mobile, tablet, desktop and laptop devices.