Body,
I have gone online and played the EGMI gamecards, I get a bit bored with it, BUT I HAVE NO SKIN in the game and am not playing for anything. I am sure if I have a vest interest in the overall outcome, I would like it more.
Regarding the SC work around, I totally agree with you, if I was going to gamble and be fickle as to the next game I wanted to play, why would I want to 'lock' myself down and carry some silly card reader around to use when I want to buy more of these scratch tickets and then find my little electronic dohicky to plug it into.
The EGMI card is No Muss No Fuss and all self contained. Much better application IMHO.
As far as using the card for Promotions, EGMI works in Spades, the Card Reader could not be meant for this application.