Scratch Off Lottery Games Big Business !

Scratch off lottery tickets are probably the most commonly played lottery games. The first scratch off lottery games were targeted at 'impulse buyers' who will sometimes buy a scratch off lottery ticket with other purchases at convenience stores. Unlike mega jackpot games like Powerball and Mega Millions scratch off lotto games offer players significantly better odds of winning a prize. Although the jackpots may not be as big scratch off players can win significant amounts of cash instantly. In June 2010 a Puerto Rican man vacationing in Connecticut won $1 million dollars after purchasing two "$100,000,000 Diamond Mine" scratch off lottery tickets. After taxes he took home a cool $400,000. A Las Vegas resident purchased a $50 scratch off lotto ticket in Texas and won $10 million dollars. The lucky player has won the Texas lottery four times with total winnings of $21 million.

Every scratch off lottery game has its own odds and generally the higher priced scratch off tickets have much better odds in favor of the player than lower priced scratch off games do. Most scratch off lottery games have odds clearly listed on the tickets. In the US most lottery jurisdictions offer various scratch off lottery games with varying ticket prices. Scratch off lotto tickets are available at all lottery retailers. The first scratch off lottery games, called the 'Instant Game 'were offered by the Massachusetts lottery in 1974. The game was an instant hit and delivered something no other lottery game could-instant cash. Scratch off games became popular and by the 1980's 16 states sold scratch off games generating revenues of over $1 billion dollars a year. Typically scratch off lottery tickets are priced at $1, $2, $5, $10, $20, and even higher.

Scratch off lottery games have varied themes including sports, holiday and seasonal themes and many others. In 2009 the classic rock group Aerosmith offered a series of scratch off lottery games with concert tickets and backstage passes as prizes. It is common for players to purchase several scratch off tickets at the same time and use winnings to purchase more tickets. The graphic design of scratch off lottery tickets has spawned a new hobby; lotology or the collecting of lottery tickets. Recently two artists created a series of unique sculptures using recycled scratch off lottery tickets. Because scratch off lottery tickets generate billions for state lotteries they are likely to be with us for some time to come.