Fair Go scratch cards: Treasure Tree and how they work

Treasure Tree: what Fair Go publishes

Fair Go's casino games page lists one scratch card game, Treasure Tree, and describes it in one line: three chances to win per card. That's the complete public description. Fair Go doesn't publish the card price, the prize table, the top prize, the odds of winning or a return to player figure for it.

We don't fill those gaps with numbers from elsewhere, because different casinos can run different versions of the same game. Open the game's info or paytable screen before your first card. It should show the price options and the prizes, and it's the only reliable source for Fair Go's version.

"Three chances to win" most likely describes how the card is laid out, with three separate areas to scratch. It doesn't mean you're three times as likely to win as on another card. The overall chance of a prize is set by the game's design, whatever the layout.

How online scratch cards work

A digital scratch card copies the paper version you'd buy at a newsagent, with one important difference in how the outcome is set.

1. Choose a card price and buy a card.
2. The result is decided immediately. When you buy, the game's random number generator fixes what's under the panels.
3. Scratch to reveal. Swipe the panels, or press reveal all. This only shows the result. Scratching slowly, quickly or in a different order changes nothing.
4. Collect any prize, which is added to your balance.

Each card is independent. A losing streak doesn't make the next card more likely to win, and there's no set number of winning cards that has to come out of a "batch" the way some people imagine with paper scratchies.

The maths of a scratch card

Two numbers describe any scratch card, and they're easy to mix up.

• Odds of winning tell you how often a card pays anything at all, for example one card in four.
• Return to player tells you how much of all money spent comes back as prizes over the long run.

A card can win often and still return little, because many "wins" are worth no more than the card cost, or even less. Here's an invented example, not Fair Go's: if one card in four wins, and those wins average three times the card price, the card returns 75% (a quarter times three). The win rate sounds friendly, but the card still keeps a quarter of everything spent.

Fair Go doesn't publish either number for Treasure Tree. If the info screen shows an RTP, use it to compare with other games. Fair Go's own figure for its pokies is around 97% on average, and some of its video poker games quote far higher figures, such as 99.54% for Jacks or Better.

Scratchies vs pokies and keno

Online scratch cards work much like a one-spin pokie: pay, see the result, repeat. There are no features to trigger, no reels to read, and the outcome is fixed at purchase in the same way a pokie spin is fixed when you press the button. If you enjoy the instant result, keno offers something similar with a choice of how many numbers to play, and Fair Go's pokies add features and bonus rounds.

The speed is the thing to watch. A card takes seconds, and "reveal all" or auto-buy options make it quicker still. Decide how many cards you're buying before you start, and stop there.

Before you buy a card

• Open the info screen and find the price options and the prize table.
• Look for an RTP figure. If none is shown, assume the card is not a cheap game.
• Set a card count or dollar limit for the session.
• Check the bonus terms if you're using bonus money. Bets are capped at $10 while you clear a Fair Go bonus, and its terms decide how scratch cards count towards the 30x wagering.
• Don't chase. Buying more cards after a loss doesn't improve the odds of the next one. Our responsible gambling page lists free support if that's getting hard.

More instant-result games at Fair Go

Keno is the other specialty game in the lobby. Kev's Bush Bonanza is Fair Go's own exclusive pokie if you want reels instead of panels.

• • Specialty

  Play now: Keno (affiliate link, opens in a new tab)Info about Keno

  Keno

• 

  • Exclusive
  • Jackpot

  Play now: Kev's Bush Bonanza (affiliate link, opens in a new tab)Info about Kev's Bush Bonanza

  Kev's Bush Bonanza

  50 paylines · 50,000x top award

• • Table game

  Play now: European Roulette (affiliate link, opens in a new tab)Info about European Roulette

  European Roulette

• • Video poker

  Play now: Jacks or Better (affiliate link, opens in a new tab)Info about Jacks or Better

  Jacks or Better

Fair Go scratch cards FAQ