How may of you are addicted to scratch cards? Are there even any winnings?

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bobbyroberts72@reddit

But one once a year, don’t win, get annoyed and don’t buy any more for another year.

Amazes me how many people in the local shop blow £20, £30, £40 in scratch cards.

Ultimately it’s a tax on the poor.

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Benjanirobo@reddit

It's not a tax, they're buying them out of choice?

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bobbyroberts72@reddit

I didn’t say it was a compulsory tax, those on lower income are more likely to play than wealthier people.

There is a lottery tax (12%) and a good portion goes towards good causes than are in line with government priorities.

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Moto-Ent@reddit

A professor at uni worked for a gambling company for awhile. She called it the ‘idiot tax’.

This upset me quite a bit, as it’s not so much an idiot tax as it is a billion pound money making machine where they prey on the vulnerable and less fortunate.

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RedditButAnonymous@reddit

"idiot tax" is also how I describe premium bonds, its just for the middle class idiots instead

I tried explaining to my friend how on average you make less than you would with plain old high-interest savings, he wasnt having any of it

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Adventurous-Rip-3424@reddit

Factoring in 40% tax relief, the return can be seen as ok

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michuneo@reddit

And tax reliefs for already rich people. :)))

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ZippleJuice@reddit

You're correct but Reddit like to frame it as a tax because it downplays personal responsibility.

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farglegarble@reddit

It's not a fuel tax, your choosing to buy petrol.

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Tenstone@reddit

But fuel tax is a tax on petrol. The petrol itself is not a tax.

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ClassicPart@reddit

Fragile comparison at best. Both of these are “wants” but petrol veers far, far closer to a “need” than scratch cards ever will.

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traviscotty@reddit

I noticed my local co-op has a £10 per transaction on scratch cards last week. This is good.

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Difficult_Bad1064@reddit

The site has been down for about a month but if it comes back up then https://smartscratchcard.co.uk/

Gives you the best odds for each scratchcard.

It won't make you a winner but can help you avoid buying cards where all the jackpot prizes have already been won.

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deltree000@reddit

Am I going crazy or did they used to put the winning scratch cards remaining for each game on Teletext?

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Difficult_Bad1064@reddit

If there's not an archive of Teletext, there should be.

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OliveRecent5050@reddit

Oddly I had a convo the other day about this. The BFI has some and it sounded like it's an active project, not sure tho.

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I live next to a corner shop and people buy them, scratch them and throw them on the ground to end up in a dirty pile in my front yard so they are in my mind connected to lazy selfish dickheads who can't even use a bin.

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Mavz-Billie-@reddit

Yeah I spend like £30 a week

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Antique-Conflique@reddit

Still enjoy it or force of habit? I'd notice £30 a week

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Mavz-Billie-@reddit

Gotta be in it to win it

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booroms@reddit

How much have you won so far?

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Mavz-Billie-@reddit

Not sure of the total. Most at once was like £100 though I essentially win every week but it’s not a lot.

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TrousersCalledDave@reddit

Are you defining "winning" as getting any reward back, regardless of how much you spent? I suspect so if you claim you "win" every week.

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Mavz-Billie-@reddit

Yeah pretty much lol

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Therashser@reddit

Probably bought 4 in my entire life, I knew a lass who won £8k about 25 years ago, she bought a rubbish phone, a coat, and spent the rest mainly on scratch cards.

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MJ-Franklin@reddit

Usually win my money back at least whenever I do one, haven't in a few months though.

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G_DIZZLE_FO_SHIZZLE@reddit

A lad i know won 100k a month ago

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Any-Session7982@reddit

2 years ago, I went through a phase of winning on them, I'd spent £2 and won 3 back and just kept investing, probably added a bit more in but made about 55quid over the space of 2 months

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cgknight1@reddit

Of course there are winnings, heavily regulated and the maths means the national lottery always wins.

Remember as well that the main prize would be won with the first ticket sold and they would still sell the rest.

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Msmart89@reddit

My mum buys them for birthdays and Christmas and always complains about never making the money back, I’ve told her to stop buying them but it’s become a tradition now …

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Wormwolf-Prime@reddit

I treat myself to £20 worth of online scratch cards once a month when I put my regular lottery on. I win fairly regularly on them but I would definitely say it's a net loss. I used to buy them in shops but don't these days as I feel weirdly embarrassed doing so. No idea why that is though.

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Dramatic-Growth1335@reddit

If you bought a whole roll of scratchards for £800 you'd likely end up with around £400

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DaughterOfATiredMech@reddit

Social experiment I’d love to see

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geekypenguin91@reddit

When I worked at Tesco in the early 2010s on the tobacco and lottery stand we had one customer who would come in once a month and ask to buy the whole roll of £1 scratch cards (£250 from memory)

Unfortunately you're now limited to only 10 cards per transaction.

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Beartato4772@reddit

It’s not really a social experiment, the % of the money that goes to the prize fund is well documented and public information.

Although you’ll likely be lower than that over a short term because of how much of the prize fund is the big prize.

This is also true of the main lottery.

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j4rj4r@reddit

There's nothing "social" about the experiment.

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CoconutBandita@reddit

Is that a mean average though? Given the jackpot is higher, the median average would be a better indicator and could be significantly lower

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Flimsy-Sheepherder98@reddit

My mum buys us all one for Xmas. This year we won (between 5 of us £40) they are still sitting in my bag waiting to be cashed in - might do that today and just buy more scratch cards - rinse and repeat till there’s nothing left to cash in

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Tactical-Chunderer@reddit

I used to drive ambulances, remember a job where I went to a job where the bloke was what I described as being an indoor tramp.

Modern block of flats, huge rooms high ceilings and gorgeous views. Had to ask how he was there. Alcoholic, in and out of work his entire life. £5 scratchcard with his daily special brew, won £1m. Had a single good friend who made him buy the place outright and restrict access to the rest. Set for however long he had left.

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Organic_Reporter@reddit

My Dad's best friend had a similar story. He was an ex heroin addict, alcoholic, won a million on a scratch card. Turned his life around, bought a nice flat on the coast and spent his time doing volunteer work with addicts and taking arty photos. Lovely guy, died a few months ago.

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Eyfura@reddit

I will buy one every few months when I feel like it. I generally win a free ticket or a couple quid. Every now and then I win a tenner. I think I buy 4-5 a year.

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Embarrassed_Park2212@reddit

Can't remember the last time I bought a scratch card. Must be 5 years, maybe longer. As someone that also likes to previously gamble, the only thing I'm thankful to COVID for is curing my gambling, slots mainly. I can see the temptation of winning fast money. I can also see how easy it is to get addicted to them so I stay as far away as I can. I know people have and can win a lot of money but that would never be me.

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Speedbird223@reddit

My father-in-law works knows a guy who spends around $200,000 a year on scratchcards, yes, that’s US dollars.

He has won million dollar prizes a couple of times and since he started playing he believes he is slightly ahead. The odds on that level of purchase suggest not but with a couple of big wins maybe possible.

He runs a very successful small business so don’t know if there’s some kind of tax fiddle at play in conjunction with the addiction…

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Fine_Analyst_4408@reddit

I had several regular scratchcard fiend customers I had to deal with, they would occasionally get £10 but one of them did end up winning £5k.

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Thestolenone@reddit

I don't buy them often but added up I have won more than I paid. Most is £100 but I often win say £2 on a £1 card.

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Mean_Ad4452@reddit

Relative won 77k. They rarely bought one and only did so because their newsagent mentioned the dispenser had been a pain that morning. Ridiculous luck.

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Pockysocks@reddit

Not very often. I've found most success with the lower prize cards but most I've won from them was a tenner.

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BigEntertainer8430@reddit

So this is in the States, but I just watched a show where someone bought $1,000 dollars of scratches, and came away at the end with about $430. Seems to fit my observation that the odds are terrible.

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Savvymundo@reddit

Back in the late 90s when they first came out a mate of mine tested this in the corner shop he worked at.

The theory was that he'd win enough to pay back the shop from the scratch cards he's stole on shift.

The reality was his parents coming to an agreement with the shop owner to pay back £4k for the scratch cards to prevent a criminal record for their son.

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Primary_Gas5054@reddit

This persons name wasn’t Jamzy was it?

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Jingoldsby@reddit

I usually buy 1-2 £5 ones when I fill up usually break about even they sit on my desk till im skint then I cash them all in.

Usually win between £5-20 most was £80.

Got one for my mates Mrs bday once and she one on every number you match.

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ConsciouslyIncomplet@reddit

I buy one occasionally, the most I have ever won is £77.

However - 1) I had a friend win £5k.

2) another friend won £50k. She put it all in Premium Bonds and won £25k the first month.

3) at work I met a client who had just won £77,777 (card called ‘all the sevens’). He literally had the card with him (signed) and was showing everyone.

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vipros42@reddit

I'll buy the occasional one for a couple of quid. Somehow more or less breaking even. Talking to the folk in my local corner shop the other day and they were saying they sell far more scratch cards than anything else, which seems kind of wild.

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DameKumquat@reddit

I guess they don't sell nearly as many fags or newspapers as they used to.

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saladmanbeast@reddit

I don't buy them but my mum buys them at Christmas and puts one on each of our table mats so I've got some anecdotal experience of winnings over the years. She probably buys about 20 a year (there's only ten of us but the additional ones get given out to winners of games like dominoes etc.). I think the most anyone's won off one scratch card has been £20, and each year you probably get 4 or 5 of them winning between £2-5.

These are the ones that have 'three games' and I think cost a fiver? Not that the three games means much, it'll tell you the odds of winning on the back which I imagine are the same as the one and done cards.

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AggravatingPumpkin72@reddit

A girl I worked with won a million quid and walked out. I also know another person who won £77,777.77 on Lucky 7s

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TroublesZoo@reddit

Never buy them, my mother in law always buys us both a £10 one each as a bonus christmas gift, one year my wife got like I think £500 on one.

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elalmohada26@reddit

I bought my friend 30 £1 scratchers for his 30th birthday and he won £29.

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RayaQueen@reddit

Good bot

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dilzebub@reddit

I played them almost everyday for a month and kept track of everything. Came out a few quid up in the end. I was buying the bingo ones, they seemed to have a quite high rate of low returns, usually the cost of the ticket or a quid or 3 more, occasionally you'd get 10 - 20. Was kind of fun ngl. Obviously a lot of the cards were straight out losers. It was the bigger wins of 10 - 20 every now and then kept the balance.

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Nels8192@reddit

As someone that was previously addicted to gambling, this and slots were two types of gambling I just never really found any ‘buzz’ in. I remember buying like £10 worth every week for about 2 months to try it, but very little returns and no enjoyment either.

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vf238@reddit

I would rarely buy one. I have wondered how likely it is to ‘win big’.

I was gifted one £2 scratch card from my boss for Xmas, alongside all the other staff. It won £2. I used that to buy another £2 card, it won £4. I’ve bought at least one scratch card every week using the winnings from the following weeks scratch card from the middle of December. I buy a mix of £1, £2 and £3 cards depending on how much I have to spend. The most I’ve won on one card has been £6. My current card is a £3 win. This could be the end of my streak.

I would like to know if anyone has ever won a fairly sizeable amount on one though!

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Nels8192@reddit

For the 100s I processed in my old job, where our store had two different lottery winners, the most I ever paid out on a scratch card was £250. I probably paid out £100+ on a scratchcard specifically about once a year.

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Overseerer-Vault-101@reddit

I get spats every 6-12 months where i'll blow £20-30 on an assortment. Rarely break even, i figure i have enough problems to add a gambling addiction, i also figure that the odds of winning big are so rare that they are only slightly less than someone who spends £30-50 a week.

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Cool-Doughnut-1489@reddit

I think I only ever won £14 that was the highest I won on a scratch card. This was in 2018 I think. I can only wish I can win a bigger amount but I only buy 2x/year so I don’t have a lot of chance LOL

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QuantumWaffle4@reddit

I’m not addicted per se, but I’ve bought a fair few and most I’ve ever won is a tenner in the UK. Then bought a couple in California and won $200.. I have little faith in scratch cards here in England lol.

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LittleBonsaiTree@reddit

I accidentally once made a family member addicted to scratch cards by giving out fake ones at Christmas. They "won" £150k

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snowdrop0901@reddit

Never as an adult

Got one for my 16th, 18th, and 21st birthday. Got maybe £20 total.

As a child probably 2 a month? Like adults in my life would probably get one or two on payday...i was with them, being a small child i wanted a go.

Always £1 for mine, but adults got maybe a £2 or £3 one...at max a £5. But would also get like them for others....so my gran may get one for her, one for me, then one for my grandad, and so on.

Not much else going on where i grew up tho....and weirdly my family always tried to include me in a fun way. Like horses racing....id get to pick 3 colours...each would match a horse. If i won itd go into savings....which i did win like £200 one year. But as i grew and understood it more itd be vibes based and again only bet £1 on each once a year. And i dont as an adult.

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PolarLocalCallingSvc@reddit

I am net profit in scratchies.

I bought my first one when I was 16 (when the minimum age was 16, not 18). I won £50.

Since then I've spent probably about £50 in my lifetime on scratchcards. I've won some, lost some.

So my net profit is probably in the realms of about £20 at a proper guess!

No, I'm not addicted. I buy one or two a year.

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LockedinYou@reddit

I probably only spend £20 a month on cards. Whatever i win off that 1st £20 lot will then get recycled back into buying more and more until I ultimately run out of money and cards.

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