NEW YORK – TECH – Scratchcards have always been a popular purchase for those visiting their local newsagent or supermarket. Their popularity has been mostly due its low cost and convenient way in which to play, and with just a coin or your fingernail you can scratch off a potential instant win. Over the past few decades their popularity has increased significantly and now there are literally hundreds of various scratchcard based games you can play.
Now after all these years the scratchcard is getting a makeover stateside that will no doubt please environmentalists everywhere. To celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Iowa State Lottery a brand new innovative scratchcard will be unveiled that will be offering players a new and eco-friendly way in which to play and hopefully win. Pollard Banknote Limited is the company behind the new Eco Scratch™ card that is in fact made of 60% recycled fibres.
The new and more sustainable card looks very similar to that of brown kraft paper and gives the cards more of an organic look and feel. They’ll be used as part of the Iowa Lottery’s ‘30 Somethings’ instant ticket where players have the opportunity to win a whole host of exciting prize packages that includes a round of 18 holes of golf to play on the Iowa course, $1,000 in cash and even a monthly state seasonal artisan cheese package. Every purchase also guarantees the player an entry into a special grand prize draw of $30,000 where the winner will be selected on 3 August 2015.
What makes the ’30 Somethings’ promotion even more attractive is that even if you lose you still have a chance of picking up a prize thanks to the special Play It Again® program. If you happen to hold a non-winning ticket you are automatically entered into the second chance program.
The eco friendly scratchcard is unlike anything else currently on the market, however what sort of actual impact it will have on the industry is yet unknown. The scratchcard market, as well as the casino/gambling industry as a whole, has suffered a notable slump in recent years mostly due to the rising popularity in online alternatives like free slot sites. Of course like many declining industries that are suffering from online competition it’s more of a case of redeveloping and evolving more so that trying to directly compete. Hopefully this is where the new Eco Scratch™ card can step in to help attract more in-store consumers.
