Rhode Island's four new holiday scratch tickets all pay back 70.1%, even the $1 one

The Rhode Island Lottery's holiday tickets are out, four of them at $1, $2, $5, and $10, now at the top of its list of active instant games with an October 10 start date. They share an unusual trait. All four return almost exactly 70.1% of sales as prizes, according to the lottery's prize tables. That's a typical figure for a $10 ticket, but a generous one for a $1 or $2 game.

Holiday Gold ($10)

The $10 game tops out at just $2,000, but it has 64 of those, about one per 3,788 tickets, along with 378 prizes of $500. Its 70.1% return matches Rhode Island's $10 average of 70.2%. With nothing claimed, it rates 90.3 on our ValueScore™, first of the state's 16 active $10 tickets and second of 75 games overall.

Holiday Wishes ($5)

Holiday Wishes has nine top prizes of $1,000, about 1 in 48,533 per ticket, and 32 of $500. At 70.1% it pays more than Rhode Island's $5 average of 68.7%, and its 88.9 rating leads the state's 27 active $5 games.

Holiday Bucks ($2)

The $2 Holiday Bucks has 36 top prizes of $500, one per 14,000 tickets. Its payout is about 3.8 points above Rhode Island's $2 average of 66.3%, and it rates first of the state's 12 $2 games.

Holiday Cash ($1)

The $1 game is the standout on payout. Holiday Cash returns 70.1%, against a national median of 61.6% for $1 tickets and Rhode Island's own $1 average of 66.6%. Its top prize is $250, 49 of them, and the overall odds are 1 in 4.54. A September launch, the $2 Hit $40, tops out at $40 and returns 68.1%. Rhode Island's Cash Extravaganza and Ghostbusters Jumanji tickets are still on sale, and every game in the state is on the Rhode Island scratch-offs page.

Sources

Rhode Island Lottery: Active instant games