How to boost your chances of winning a £2million scratchcard jackpot and the ones to NEVER buy
GRABBING your lucky penny to see if you have won tens of thousands of pounds in an instant is all part of the thrill for scratchcard players.
But there are ways you can boost your chances of winning with a few crucial steps, thanks to scratchcard expert Patrick Wareing's tips.
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Patrick runs the website scratchcard-winners.co.uk and has been dishing out top tips on how to bag a big prize since 2015.
He also helps players work out which online scratchcards are best to play.
Scratchcards offer life changing wins of up to £2million for punters and are sold at supermarkets, as well as garages and other convenience shops.
National Lottery scratchcards cost between £1 to £5, depending on which one you choose.
You can also buy online through the National Lottery website.
Anyone 18-years or over can buy a scratchcard and play.
Here's what you need to know before playing.
Make sure you gamble responsibly.
Track down the odds
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Scratchcard odds can be found on the back of the slip, on the game procedures document or the National Lottery website.
They can also be found on in-store screens at the till in shops.
Typically, the more expensive the scratchcard, the better the odds - but this isn't always the case.
The odds of winning on the Sapphire 7s Doubler scratchcard, which costs £2, is one in 3.37, whereas the odds of winning the Diamond Maze scratchcard, which is £5, is one in 3.58.
Odds show how likely you are to win any particular prize - the lower the number, the better the odds.
This means you have a better chance of winning with the £2 game compared to the more expensive £5 game.
Of course, there's no guarantee you will win on your scratchcard, even if you buy many to increase your odds of winning.
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Patrick said: "If you buy a scratchcard with odds of one in four, and you buy four scratchcards, you'd assume you get a winner.
"Yet the odds are calculated on all scratchcards in circulation, which means that you aren't guaranteed a winner in this scenario.
"It can work in your favour though, as you could equally win on all four scratchcards."
A better method of calculating the likelihood of winning can be to take a look at what "return to player" rate is.
This is what gambling experts define as the percentage of money that will be paid back to players from total scratchcard sales. It's essentially the pay out rate on scratchcards.
National Lottery scratchcards usually pay out at a rate of between 60-70%.
So say, for example, that the total of all the scratchcards sold was £1 million.
A 65% pay out rate would mean that £650,000 would be paid out to players, with the remaining £350,000 going to National Lottery.
The £100,000 A Month For A Year scratchcard has pay out rate of 70.02%.
The £100,000 Multiplier Yellow scratchcard has an pay out rate of 61.75%.
That's a difference of nearly 10% and can make a big difference to your chance of getting winnings.
You can find information on prize rates on the game procedure documents, which are on the National Lottery website for each scratchcard.
The scratchcards you can NEVER win the jackpot
Before you buy your scratchcard, check whether the top jackpot prizes have already been won.
The number of jackpot prizes available varies depending on what type of scratchcard you pick.
Many people don't realise you can still buy National Lottery scratchcards even after all the top prizes have been won.
For cards with a jackpot above £121,000, no new packs of scratchcards will be put on sale when the last top prize has been won.
However, scratchcards that are already on display can continue to be sold.
Information about remaining prizes is available on in-store National Lottery scratchcard terminals, but these can be easy to miss so make sure you visit the National Lottery website too.
There won't be a breakdown of other winnings still up for grabs.
Jackpot information is only every weekday, so there could be a delay if prizes are claimed on the weekend or on bank holidays.
The National Lottery site currently shows that five out of around 50 scratchcard games on sale have already had the top prizes claimed.
Use this nifty site
If you're not sure which scratchcard to choose with the best chance of winning, this handy website could help.
Smartscratchcard.co.uk ranks which scratchcards are best to buy based on the chances of scoring the top prize.
It uses an algorithm to give a rating out of 100 on popular scratchcards.
It takes into account factors such as the price of the card, whether the top prize is still available to be won, how many cards are still available to buy, and the odds of winning.
It also lists how much you might have to spend to win the jackpot statistically.
The scratchcard rated the top buy on the site is currently Run For Your Money.
It costs £5 and the jackpot is £1 million.
The return to player rate is 70.12%, and two out of three jackpots have been won.
Shockingly, statistically speaking, you could have to spend £4,990,920 on cards to win.
Don't throw away a loser
You may not believe it, but it's easier to lose track of a winning scratchcard then you might think.
More than £57.6m worth of prizes went unclaimed by Lotto, EuroMillions and scratchcard players in the ten months to the end of January 2024.
The National Lottery recommends you always sign a scratchcard and keep it safe if you have a winner.
It sounds obvious, but make sure your card is definitely not a winner before chucking.
This is more likely to happen with scratchcards featuring letters and numbers, such as the Bingo and Crossword styles.
Patrick adds: "The National Lottery often changes the rules between new releases - even if they look similar to the ones before them."
Even if you think you have a loser, it's a good idea to take it to a shop where they can check.
Then you can be completely sure you don't throw away any winners.
Don't leave it too late
It's really important to know that all scratchcards have an expiry date.
Even if you have a winner, you won't be able to claim your prize if the card is out of date.
Prizes must be claimed before the end of the 180th day after the closing date of the game.
This gives you roughly six months after the game has closed.
But here's the catch, the closure dates are influenced by how many prizes are left.
So to avoid missing out, cash in your prize as soon as you realise you have a winner.
Remember, only gamble with money you can afford to lose, and set a spending limit before you play.
Visit gamcare.org.uk or GambleAware.org if you need help.
SCRATCHCARD winner Matthew Harding won a £500,000 jackpot, and revealed his secret to scooping the mega win.
Shop assistant Matthew, from Nottingham, won big on the Pink Multiplier National Scratchcard in 2023.
He said he always bought two scratchcards in a row because he heard that this makes you more likely to win.
His tactic paid off, and he scooped the top jackpot.
Matthew said at the time of winning: 'I treat myself to a scratchcard or two every month after payday and scratch them on my way home.
'I have seen a few customers in the shop winning £20 or £40 here and there so I thought I would give this particular one a go.
'I have always been told to buy two in a row as you are more likely to win.
'There may be no real logic in that but that's exactly what I do – I always buy them in a set.
Matthew stuffed the card in his sock to keep it safe.
He bought it from Greasley General Stores, Eastwood - the store he worked at the time.
He made sure to sign the back of the card and didn't fold it so he could keep the card safe.
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