Some players who buy different scratch games have noticed that the security coating on the tickets can vary from game to game, and they’ve asked why. In many cases, it’s because they’re specifically designed that way, but I have more background below.
The material on scratch tickets that you remove when you play them is called a security coating. There are different types of security coatings on our tickets, depending on the specific game that you’re playing.
For example, in some of our games, the security coating has to be transparent so you can see through it to the letters, numbers and symbols that you’ll scratch off in the play area. In other games, the security coating covers up the details below it so the play area can’t be seen until you scratch the ticket.
In addition, the scratch games that we sell here in Iowa can come from different companies. (There are only three companies that print the scratch tickets available in the U.S. market, and the Iowa Lottery has printing contracts with them all so we can access the popular concepts they each offer.)
For all those reasons, the security coating on our tickets can vary from game to game. Sometimes it can be a powdery substance when you scratch it off and other times it will be a bit gummy. Sometimes the coating is purposefully thin, and other times it can have multiple layers. That also means you likely will need to apply different amounts of pressure as you scratch off the security coating on different tickets.
All our games go through testing to ensure that the security coating involved meets the parameters required for those particular tickets.
I hope this background helps! And, happy scratching.
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