Florida, Texas, and California: which big state treats scratch off players best?

Florida, Texas and California are three of the largest scratch-off markets in the country and each state runs their scratch-off games differently.

California wins in this metric

Payout for all three states are very similar. You have 72.3% in California, 72.2% in Florida, and 70.1% in Texas. But for odds, it's a different story and this is where California pulls away. California's games average 1 in 3.62 against 1 in 4.01 in Florida and 1 in 4.21 in Texas. A person purchasing scratch off lottery tickets in California wins more often for the same return.

Florida has a lot of dead games

There's an issue when you see the "Games with no top prize left" row. Fifteen active Florida games have zero top prizes remaining. Compare that to just one in Texas and none in California. That is roughly one Florida game in six still that's still selling but have no top prizes left.

So if you're a player in Florida, it means you need to check more carefully than a Californian and a Texan. Nationally about one active game in eight has no top prize left, so Florida is close to the norm while California are Texas are more outliers.

Texas sells a different product

The average cost of a scratch off ticket in Texas averages to about $17.88 a ticket, that's nearly double Florida. Texas leans on $20, $50, and $100 games, including Premier Winnings at $100, which is the best game in the state at 95.8.

Texas also has the lowest average payout of the three, because the cheap tickets it does sell are particularly weak, while its average ValueScore™ of 51.1 nearly matches California's on the strength of the expensive end. A Texan buying $20 and up does better than the other states while, the same person buying $1 and $2 tickets does worse than a Floridian.

Catalog size changes the experience

Florida keeps 84 scored games on sale, Texas 77 and California 49. A California player is choosing from roughly half the games, which sounds like a disadvantage but it isn't: fewer games means less filler, and it is a big reason why California's averages hold up.

Depth cuts the other way for anyone who checks before buying. A bigger catalog contains more genuinely good tickets alongside the weak ones, so Florida's 84 games include several that beat anything in California. MEGA BUCKS at 89.3 is a strong $20 ticket by any standard.

Which is the best?

On these numbers California is the best of the three states for a player who does not choose carefully, because its floor is higher: better odds, no dead games and equal payout. Florida rewards checking, since its average is dragged down by exhausted games that are easy to avoid once you look. Texas rewards spending more money per ticket.

Current scores for each are on our Florida, Texas and California rankings.