Any online casino worth its salt will ensure its customers have access to as many types of games of chance as possible. Of course, that always starts with a huge lineup of video slots followed by dozens of fun and exciting table games. Throwing in virtual scratch cards and video poker games would form a decent library of online casino games.
What are Virtual Scratch Cards?
In the world of online casino gambling, some players like being intimately involved in the game-playing process while others might prefer a more hands-off approach. Players who seek involvement will tend to favor table games and poker. Players who want to play real games of chance with limited involvement will tend to migrate toward virtual scratch cards and online video slots.
The concept behind scratch cards is not new. The concept was originally introduced in the mid-1970s and has since grown in popularity as a simplistic form of “game-of-chance” gambling. Virtual scratch cards evolved as online casino gambling became a reality.
Scratch cards in general are quite similar to the scratch-off lottery tickets that people might purchase at the local gas station or convenience store. The card has a predetermined number of “covered” spaces that can be scratched off with a coin or fingernail. The rules governing of each scratch card will dictate how many spaces the player will need to expose. The rules will also dictate which combinations will create wins.
The Comparison
Given the popularity of online video slots, there is no need to define the term. Anyone who has ever visited an online gambling site has probably thrown a few dollars at a video slot or two. What does seem relevant is a comparison between virtual scratch cards and video slots. This might help novice online gamblers find games that are more suitable for them. Let’s take a look at key similarities and differences.
How Payouts are Handled
For starters, the amount of money players can win playing either of these options will vary based on the rules of each specific game. With that said, high-paying scratch cards are just as common as high-paying video slots.
Where these two options differ is when it comes to how many payouts are available. Typically, scratch cards will offer maybe 6-8 different ways to win with each way predetermined. Video slots offer a lot more ways to win (pay lines) because game matrixes (reels/rows) can be programmed to create a massive number of winning combinations. Plus, online casinos will always offer the latest no deposit bonus promos for slots whereas there are no incentives to do so for scratch games.
Availability of Different Types of Jackpots
There are two primary types of jackpots: fixed and progressive. All jackpots offered by virtual scratch cards are of the fixed variety. Conversely, there are progressive video slot games like Mega Moolah (Microgaming) that offer both fixed jackpots and a progressive jackpot that grows as played until the jackpot is hit. At that time, it resets to a starting amount and the growth resumes.
Availability of Interactive Bonus Features
Virtual scratch cards could best be described as a vanilla form of gambling. There is nothing to do but scratch off spots from a base game and hope for the best. BTW: the scratching-off process for virtual scratch cards involves nothing more than clicking on spots.
Online video slots start with a base spin and will often lead to other ways that players can win extra money. Those other ways are referred to as bonus features. Bonus features could include free spins and interactive games that involve making selections that lead to additional riches.
Return To Player (RTP) Rates
The best way to determine the feasibility of winning money when playing a particular online casino game is to look at the game’s odds or “Return To Player” (RTP) rates. RTP can best be defined as the percentage of every dollar wagered on a game that eventually gets returned to players over the game’s lifetime.
Virtual scratch card RTP rates are significantly lower than online video slots, coming in at around 60%-70%. The average RTP rate for an online video slot comes in at about 96% for non-progressive slots and 88% for progressive slots.
Entertainment Value
At the end of the day, playing online casino games should be fun and exciting. Yes, virtual scratch cards and online video slots require little effort when it comes to gameplay. With scratch cards, a few clicks of the mouse will reveal the spots. With video slots, the click of a mouse is all that’s needed to set the reels in motion. However, there is a difference in entertainment value. With value-added bonus features included, video slots can create more excitement.
Conclusion: Given the similarities and differences between these two types of online casino games, it’s up to you to decide which one is going to fulfill what you want and need from your online casino gaming experience.