History of National Lottery Scratchcards

Suddenly, waiting to see if you'd won was a thing of the past. For just £1.00 you could buy a National Lottery Instant Scratchcard and find out there and then if you'd won. Whereas our draw games were held at the same time every week, people could now play for cash prizes whenever, and wherever, they liked.

It's the same today, only now we offer even more choice. There are £2.00 and £5.00 Scratchcards, in addition to our hugely popular £1.00 Scratchcards. We offer a wide range of themes and a number of different game-play styles - from the simple scratch and reveal, to those that involve players more simply because they take a little bit longer to play.

Here are just a few of the innovative Scratchcard designs we've created since our original £1.00 Scratchcard launch:

• The very beginning; our first £1 Scratchcard.Instants (blue) March 1995
• Our first £2 Scratchcard. Christmas Bonus November 1995
• Our first extended play Scratchcard - a card that simply takes longer to play.Fortune 4 June 1997
• Our first Scratchcard to be linked to a TV show. TV Dreams Febuary 1998
• Our first regular payment Scratchcard offering £10,000 a month for two years.Payout September 1998
• Our first Scratchcard to offer a non-cash prize. Cars & Cash January 2001
• Our first Scratchcard to offer an amazing £1 million top prize.Instant Millionaire June 2001
• Our first Scratchcard to feature a popular licensed board game. Monopoly October 2001
• Our first Scratchcard to offer an annuity prize of £2,000 a month for life. Cash for Life March 2002
• Our first Scratchcard to offer a holiday prize. Holiday Bonanza January 2003. Re-issued January 2004
• Our first £3 Scratchcard. £500,000June 2003
• Our first £5 Scratchcard. £30 Million Spectacular October 2003
• Our first Scratchcard to be linked to a major film release. Lord of the Rings November 2003
• Our first Scratchcard dedicated to raising funds for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Go for Gold July 2005