Scratchcards are gaining ground on more traditional forms of gambling like lotto as they provide scratch games that start from as little as 10p.
The Irish National Lottery has just released its annual report which showed that they have raised €232 million for the good causes fund in 2011 which is the lowest they have raised in the last five years. This decline was attributed largely to lower ticket sales and less lottery funds been allocated.
The report stated that the National Lottery raised over €761 million from lottery tickets in 2011 which is a drop of 1.4% from 2010.
Many people are disillusioned with the lottery chances and prefer to play scratch cards where the odds of scratching and winning are much higher. The fact that scratch games can start at 10p yet scratch cards like Super3Wow have the ability to make you an instant millionaire is drawing many to its lucrative format.
This drop according to lottery officials was still not as bad as there is a “very challenging” economic environment in Europe and most retail revenues fell by over 5%.
Of the €761.4 million generated by the lottery over €231.9 million or 30.5% went to projects supported by the lottery.
The Lottery license is set to be renewed by a new 20-year license granted by Minister for Public expenditure and Reform Brendan Howlin.
Many see scratchcards as the ideal option to lottery as the variety and spectrum of modern day scratchies is unrivaled. There is no other format that can compete with the scratch card in providing all round winning entertainment to all sectors of the population.
Howlin has promised to maintain this allocation ratio yet it must be pointed out that 30.5% still is the smallest amount been given good cause fund in the last eight years. The good cause fund is generated by lottery sales and is then distributed by the Government to worthy causes such as charities, sports organizations and other needy groups.
Online sales made a massive increase of 65% to reach over €6.1 million. This while impressive has led many critics to ask the question why no more was done to maximize this market.
Online scratch cards are the easiest way to win big bucks as there is no need to leave your home to win big. With tough economic times upon us many see online scratch cards as the ideal way to save money as there is no need to travel to a casino, just click a button and scratch your way to instant jackpots.
Chief Executive Dermot Griffin responded to critics claiming that their current license was “severely restricted” and made online use very cumbersome for players as it required registration. He believes that should the restrictions be eased, online sales could make up over 15-20% in overall sales.
It is amazing to see that the Irish Lottery has not kept up pace with the scratch cards online world which has long been the leader in providing mobile cutting edge entertainment for the masses.