How we rate scratchcards

When it comes to design, we look at whether the ticket has an original idea, whether it feels modern, and whether its visual style matches the theme. It’s not just about the graphics, but also the overall atmosphere and whether it’s immediately clear what the player should scratch and how to spot a win.

We rate tickets more highly when they’re well laid out, visually polished, and easy to understand. On the other hand, tickets can lose points if they feel outdated, confusing, or have an overly complicated mechanic.

The percentage of the total stake shows how much money from the total value of sold tickets is paid back to players in winnings. It’s an important indicator, because the top prize alone still doesn’t tell you everything about how the ticket is set up.

Some tickets may have a high top prize, but a lower overall share of money allocated to prizes. Others might not tempt you with a huge jackpot, but can offer more smaller prizes and a better return.

We rate tickets more highly when they have a higher share of money allocated to prizes and a fairly structured prize breakdown at the same time.

The top prize is often the first thing a player notices. But on its own, it doesn’t determine whether a ticket is truly good value or fun. That’s why we also look at the number of prizes, the probability of winning, and the overall distribution of prize amounts.

Some tickets offer the chance to win a really large amount or, for example, a monthly annuity. Others have more frequent smaller wins, which can give players a more regular sense of success. At the same time, we also take into account that with some tickets, even if “almost everyone wins”, a large share of prizes can be lower than the ticket price itself.

We rate tickets more highly when they have a well-balanced mix of top prize, number of prizes, and a realistic chance of winning.

Playability matters with scratchcards mainly because it’s not just about the outcome, but also the gameplay itself. We look at whether the ticket is easy to understand, whether it has a snappy pace, and whether the player immediately knows what to do.

For online tickets, we also rate controls, animations, sounds, loading speed, and mobile comfort. For physical tickets, we’re mainly interested in clarity, symbol readability, and the overall feel of scratching.

It’s also important whether the ticket is available online, offline, or in both formats. For some players, the advantage is being able to buy a ticket the traditional way in-store, while others prefer quick online play.