Scratch cards are paper-based lottery products that are popular worldwide. In this article, the authors review existing research studies on the association between scratch cards and problem gambling. They also rank the risk of scratch cards in comparison to other gambling activities. There is strong evidence that scratch cards are relatively low risk. The evidence is consistent and observable across multiple countries and population groups. When the authors ranked the different gambling activities, slot machines have the highest risk. This is followed by casino table games. Sports betting, race betting, and card games (e.g., poker) have moderate risk. Bingo, scratch cards, and lotteries have the lowest risk. There is a need for more research into the risk of online lottery products.
