ScratchCheck Blog
Analysis, strategy, and stories from the editorial team.
Latest articles
Can You Buy Scratch-Offs With a Credit or Debit Card?
Sometimes, and it depends on three things: your state’s law, the store’s own policy, and whether the card is credit or debit. Debit is widely accepted, credit is blocked in a lot of places, and even where credit works it can cost you more than the ticket. Here is how to tell what you can use...
by Jessie Jurado
Why Scratch-Off Games Keep Selling After the Top Prize Is Gone
A scratch-off does not get pulled from shelves the moment its last big prize is claimed. The game keeps selling, at the same price, with the same printed odds, while the jackpot you are picturing no longer exists in the pool. It is legal, it is common, and it is the single most avoidable mistake a player can make. Here is why it happens...
by Phil Nageotte
Texas Just Launched 3 New Scratch-Offs: Mega Cash! Leads
Texas launched three new scratch-offs on June 15, 2026, covering the $2, $5, and $10 tiers. Mega Cash! leads the group on value. Here's the breakdown of all three...
by Jessie Jurado
4 New Georgia Scratch-Offs Launched on June 16
Georgia launched four new scratch-offs today, June 16, 2026, covering the $3 to $20 range. DOUBLE Your LUCK leads the group with a strong opening ValueScore, and LUCKY 7s brings some of the tightest odds you'll find at the $5 tier. Here's the full breakdown...
by Jessie Jurado
Do Lottery Winnings Affect Social Security, SNAP, or Other Benefits?
It depends entirely on whether the benefit is means-tested. A scratch-off win can reduce or end SSI, SNAP, Medicaid, and housing assistance because those check your income and assets. But it does not touch Social Security retirement or SSDI, which you earned through work. Here is the line between the two...
by Phil Nageotte
What Is ValueScore? How ScratchCheck Ranks Scratch-Offs 0 to 100
ValueScore is a single 0-to-100 number that tells you how good a scratch-off is right now, combining four things players normally have to weigh by hand: expected value, prize quality, win frequency, and how much of the prize pool is left. Here is exactly what goes into it and how to read it...
by ScratchCheck Editorial Team
How Old Do You Have to Be to Buy a Scratch-Off Ticket?
In most states you have to be 18 to buy a scratch-off, but a handful set the minimum at 19 or 21, and the rule that matters is the one in the state where you actually buy the ticket. Here is how the age limits break down and what happens at the counter...
by Jessie Jurado
Can You Write Off Scratch-Off Losses on Your Taxes?
Sometimes, but the rules are stricter than most people hope. You can deduct scratch-off losses only up to the amount you won, only if you itemize, and only with records to back it up. For the typical player who takes the standard deduction, the answer is effectively no. Here is exactly how it works...
by Phil Nageotte
Can You Stay Anonymous If You Win a Scratch-Off?
It depends entirely on your state, and the answer ranges from "yes, automatically" to "no, your name and city become public record." About 20 states now let lottery winners keep their names private, either for any prize or above a certain dollar threshold. The rest require disclosure, though many of those allow a workaround through a trust or LLC. If staying anonymous matters to you, it's worth knowing your state's rule before you win, not after...
by Jessie Jurado
$30 vs $50 Scratch-Offs: Is the Premium Tier Worth It?
If you're spending at the premium end of the scratch-off shelf, the jump from $30 to $50 looks like it should buy you better everything. It mostly doesn't. Across 135 active premium games in 20 states, $50 tickets return...
by Phil Nageotte
7 New Scratch-Offs Launched in Massachusetts and Oregon
Two states launched new scratch-offs on June 9, 2026: Oregon rolled out three games and Massachusetts launched a four-game multiplier series. The Massachusetts games stand out, which is no surprise given the state runs one of the best-structured catalogs in the country. Here's the full rundown across all seven new games...
by Jessie Jurado
How Much Do Americans Spend on Scratch-Offs Per Year?
Americans spent $104.7 billion on lottery tickets in 2024, a record high, and scratch-offs made up the majority of it. With scratch games accounting for roughly 65 to 75% of total lottery revenue in most states, that puts annual scratch-off spending somewhere in...
by Jessie Jurado
Do You Have to Pay Taxes on a $1,000 Scratch-Off Win?
Yes. A $1,000 scratch-off win is taxable income, and it sits in a specific spot in the tax rules that catches a lot of people off guard. It's large enough that the lottery reports it to the IRS, but not large enough that...
by Phil Nageotte
Are Scratch Tickets Actually Random?
Mostly, but not in the way most people assume. Scratch-off outcomes are determined by a random process at the printing stage, but the result of any individual ticket is fixed the moment it's printed, not random at the moment you scratch it. The distinction matters, and understanding it clears up most of the myths people believe about how scratch-offs work...
by Phil Nageotte
A Hoosier Lottery Player Scratched a $100,000 "Winner." The Lottery Said No.
The Hoosier Lottery pulled one of its newest scratch-off games within hours of discovering a problem, and at least one player says he scratched what looked like a major win only to be told the ticket was worthless. The game, a $5 ticket called Space Invaders Cash Invasion, was halted on June 3, 2026 over what the lottery described as a technical issue. The episode is a useful, if painful, lesson in what actually makes a scratch-off win valid...
by Jessie Jurado
What Happens If You Damage a Winning Scratch-Off Ticket?
It went through the wash. It got torn in half. The dog got to it. You scratched too hard and took off part of the barcode. If you've got a scratch-off you think is a winner and it's damaged, the good news is that a damaged ticket is often still claimable. Lotteries want to pay legitimate winners, and most have a formal process for verifying tickets that can't be scanned normally. The bad news is that severely destroyed tickets can be rejected, and the process takes time and effort. Here's exactly what happens and what to do...
by Jessie Jurado
New Scratch-Offs Just Launched in DC, Maine, Vermont, and Rhode Island
Four states rolled out new scratch-offs over the first week of June 2026: Washington DC on June 3, Maine on June 4, Vermont on June 5, and Rhode Island on June 6. That's 14 new games across four lotteries. Here's the full rundown, organized by state...
by Jessie Jurado
Best Scratch-Offs in New York Right Now
New York runs one of the largest scratch-off catalogs in the country, with 50 active games spanning $1 to $30. The top of the rankings right now is dominated by premium games, and a few of them stand out clearly on value. One thing worth knowing before you play: New York is a...
by Phil Nageotte
Can You Check Scratch-Offs Online?
Every major state lottery now has an official mobile app with a built-in ticket scanner. You point your phone camera at the barcode on your scratch-off, and the app tells you instantly whether it's a winner and how much you won. No more squinting at tiny numbers or second-guessing whether you read the prize legend correctly. Here's how it works and what your options are...
by Jessie Jurado
11 New Scratch-Offs Launched Across Michigan, Mississippi, and Arizona
Three states rolled out new scratch-offs on June 2, 2026, including a full four-game gemstone series in Michigan, a new Cashword and a couple of others in Mississippi, and a strong four-game batch in Arizona headlined by the highest-ValueScore game in the country. Here's the full rundown across all eleven new games.
by Jessie Jurado
Does Anybody Ever Win Big on Scratch Cards?
Yes. Real people win millions on scratch cards, and the lotteries publish their names, their stores, and their prizes. These aren't urban legends. A Massachusetts woman won $25 million on a single ticket in 2023. A Florida man won $25 million in 2025 and walked away with a $16 million lump sum. The wins are real, documented, and life-changing. They're also rare, and understanding both halves of that sentence is the key to thinking about scratch cards clearly...
by Jessie Jurado
This Week's New Scratch-Off Launches in Illinois, Minnesota, and Texas
Three states rolled out new scratch-offs this week, with strong launches in Illinois, Minnesota, and Texas. A few of them open near the top of their state catalogs. Here's the full rundown across all eight new games, organized by state.
by Jessie Jurado
What's the Trick to Winning Scratch-Offs?
While you can't change your odds of winning, you can absolutely make smarter buying decisions that improve how much you get back over time and how often you win something. The difference between an informed player and a random one is real. It's just not magic. Here's what actually works and...
by Phil Nageotte
Should You Buy the $5, $10, $20, or $30 Scratch-Off?
If you're standing at the counter deciding between a $5, $10, or $20 scratch-off, the data points to a clear answer: the $10 ticket is the value sweet spot in most states. Moving from $5 to $10 buys you a meaningful jump in payout rate and tighter odds. Moving from $10 to $20 buys you much less. The biggest improvement happens at the first step up, and it mostly flattens after that...
by Phil Nageotte
What Scratch Cards Are the Best to Buy?
The honest answer is that "best" depends on what you're after and which state you're in, because the best scratch card is different in Texas than in Massachusetts, and it changes as games launch and prizes get claimed. But there's a reliable framework for finding the best card available to you at any given moment, and it comes down to three numbers. Get those three right and you'll consistently buy better cards than the player next to you grabbing whatever looks shiny...
by Jessie Jurado
Do People Actually Win Second-Chance Lottery Drawings?
Every state that runs a second-chance program posts real winners with real prizes, and the odds are often better than the original game because so few players bother entering. The skepticism is understandable. Submitting losing tickets into a...
by Phil Nageotte
How Many Scratch-Off Tickets Are in a Roll?
The number of tickets in a roll depends entirely on the ticket price, and the pattern is more deliberate than most people realize. A roll of $1 scratch-offs might hold 300 tickets while a roll of $30 tickets holds 50. The number changes, but the total dollar value of a roll stays remarkably consistent, usually landing somewhere between $300 and $1,500. That consistency isn't an accident. It's how lotteries keep their retail logistics manageable...
by Jessie Jurado
3 New New Jersey Lottery Scratch-Offs Launched This Week
New Jersey added three new scratch-offs between May 26 and May 27, 2026, covering the $3, $5, and $10 price tiers. One note before the breakdown: all three games show odds marked as estimated rather than official, since the New Jersey Lottery does not publish overall odds for its scratch-off games. The figures below reflect ScratchCheck's best estimates based on available prize table data...
by Jessie Jurado
How Much Money Do You Actually Lose Playing Powerball and Mega Millions?
Right now, for every dollar you spend on a Powerball ticket, you get back about $0.28 in expected value. For every dollar on Mega Millions, about $0.25. That means you're losing roughly $0.72 and $0.75 per dollar respectively. Those numbers are calculated from the current jackpots of $154 million for Powerball and $331 million for Mega Millions, and they update with every drawing. Here's exactly how the math works and what it looks like across different jackpot sizes...
by Phil Nageotte
Oklahoma Lottery Launched 5 New Scratch-Offs on May 21
Oklahoma launched five new scratch-offs on May 21, 2026, covering every tier from $1 to $20. The group opens with two strong base structures at the premium end and includes Frogger making its second state appearance after launching in Georgia and Florida this month. Here's the full breakdown...
by Jessie Jurado
The Scratch-Offs With the Most Unclaimed Top Prizes Right Now
Most players pick scratch-offs by price, design, or habit. The players who consistently get better value do one extra thing: they check how many top prizes are still available before they buy. The Top Prizes Remaining page on ScratchCheck ranks every active game across all US states by how many top-tier prizes are still unclaimed, updated from official lottery sources. Right now there are 2,893 active games with prizes still on the table. Here's how to use the page and what the current data shows across each prize tier...
by Phil Nageotte
How Much Do You Actually Take Home From a Lottery Jackpot?
The advertised jackpot is not what you take home. It's not even close. Between the lump sum discount, federal withholding, and state taxes, for example, a $131 million Powerball jackpot can turn into $33 million in your bank account depending on where you live. Understanding the gap between the headline number and the real number is one of the more useful things you can know before you start mentally spending a jackpot you haven't won yet...
by Phil Nageotte
Massachusetts Scratch-Offs: Best Bets for May 2026
Massachusetts has the highest per-capita scratch-off spending of any state in the country and consistently runs one of the best-structured catalogs nationally. May 2026 is no exception. The current top of the Massachusetts rankings features a three-way tie at the top, an unusual spread game with 15,000+ prizes remaining, and payout rates that most states don't hit even at the $50 tier. Here's what's worth buying right now.
by Jessie Jurado
Scratch-Offs Are 70% of all Lottery Revenue. Here's Why
Scratch-offs are the bulk of all Lottery Revenue. It's not particularly close, and the gap has been widening for years. Most people assume Powerball and Mega Millions are the lottery's main product because they generate the biggest headlines and the largest individual prizes. But in terms of actual dollars spent, scratch-off tickets dominate every major state's lottery revenue, and by a margin that surprises most players when they see the numbers...
by Jessie Jurado
California Lottery Launches 5 New Lottery Scratchers on May 18
California launched five new Scratchers on May 18, 2026, covering every price tier from $1 to $20. The group includes a new LOTERÍA™ edition, a World Cup-timed soccer game, and one game with prize structure that looks completely different from anything else in the current California catalog. Here's the full breakdown...
by Jessie Jurado
Crossword Scratch-Offs vs. Number Matching: Which Type Wins More?
Scratch-off players tend to have strong preferences. Some always reach for a crossword game. Others never touch them, convinced that number-matching tickets are faster to scratch and more likely to win. Both camps have logic behind them. The actual data across 14 states tells a more nuanced story: crossword games win on overall odds at every price tier, but number-matching games return more money per dollar at the $10 and $20 tiers. The right answer depends on what you're optimizing for...
by Phil Nageotte
Florida Lottery Launches Four New Scratch-Offs on May 18: Mega 7s and Cash Stacks Stand Out
Florida launched four new scratch-offs on May 17, 2026, at price points of $2, $3, $5, and $20. All four are entering the market with full prize pools intact. Here's what each game looks like and how they compare to the existing Florida catalog...
by ScratchCheck Editorial Team
Most Scratch-Off Players Don't Know About This Number on the Back of the Ticket
Flip a scratch-off ticket over. There's a prize table, some fine print, and a number that looks like a fraction or a percentage. Most players never read it. The ones who do often aren't sure what it means. That number is the payout rate, and it's the most useful piece of information on the entire ticket...
by Phil Nageotte
Georgia Lottery Launches 4 New Scratch-Offs Today: GRANT Debuts at #1 in the State
Georgia added four new scratch-offs to its catalog today, May 19, 2026, spanning price points from $2 to $30. All four are launching with full prize pools intact. Here's what each game looks like and which one stands out...
by ScratchCheck Editorial Team
Does It Matter Whether You Buy the Lottery at the Counter or a Kiosk?
A lot of scratch-off players have a preference. Some always buy from the cashier, convinced the machine gets the leftover rolls nobody wants. Others prefer the kiosk specifically because the clerk can't influence which ticket they get. Both camps have theories. Most of the theories are wrong, but a few of the practical differences between kiosk and counter are real and worth knowing...
by Jessie Jurado
How Lottery Retailers Get Paid (And Why It Matters for You)
The gas station clerk who hands you a scratch-off ticket is not just ringing up a sale. They're earning a commission on that transaction, and possibly a bonus if your ticket turns out to be a winner. The retailer compensation structure in lottery systems is something most players never think about, but it directly explains a few behaviors you've probably noticed without knowing why...
by Jessie Jurado
The Scratch-Off With the Best Odds in America Right Now
Every scratch-off player has wondered which game actually gives them the best chance of winning. Not which has the biggest jackpot or the flashiest design. Which has the tightest odds of winning anything at all. The answer changes as games launch and close, but right now, the data is clear. And some of it is surprising...
by Phil Nageotte
What Happens to Lottery Money If Nobody Claims The Prize?
Between $1 billion and $2 billion in lottery prizes go unclaimed every year in the United States. That's not a rounding error. It's roughly 1% of all lottery revenue, which sounds small until you remember that Americans spend over $113 billion on lottery tickets annually. The money doesn't disappear. It goes somewhere specific, and where it goes depends...
by Jessie Jurado
How to Pick a Scratch-Off Ticket: What Actually Matters
Most people pick scratch-off tickets the way they pick a cereal at the grocery store: whatever looks good, whatever's at eye level, whatever's cheapest. That works fine if you don't care about the outcome. If you do care, there are a handful of things that actually affect how good a game is right now, and none of them are the ones most players look at...
by Phil Nageotte
The Best and Worst Florida Scratch-Offs
Florida has one of the most active scratch-off programs in the country and one of the shortest prize claim windows: 90 days from game end, the tightest deadline of any major state. The combination of a large, fast-moving catalog and a short clock makes knowing which games are worth your money more important here than almost anywhere else. Here's what the current Florida data shows across every price tier, and which games to avoid...
by Jessie Jurado
Best Texas Scratch-Offs Right Now: Ranked by Odds, Payout, and Prizes Remaining
Texas runs one of the largest and most diverse scratch-off catalogs in the country, with 50 active games spanning $3 to $100 and a Lotería lineup that goes deeper than any other state. The range creates a real selection problem. Two games at the same price point can have wildly different odds, payout rates, and remaining prize counts. Right now, the spread between the best and worst games in Texas is wider than most states. Here's where the value actually is...
by Jessie Jurado
Is It Better to Buy One $20 Scratch-Offs or Two $10 Scratch-Offs?
This is one of the most common questions scratch-off players actually think about at the counter. You have $20. Do you buy one ticket or two? The answer isn't the same in every state, and the two metrics you'd use to decide, payout rate and overall odds, don't always point in the same direction. Here's what the data actually shows across nine major states...
by Phil Nageotte
How to Spend $20 on California Scratch-Offs Right Now
California's scratch-off catalog is one of the most unusual in the country, and not just because of the size. The California Lottery uses a pari-mutuel prize structure for its top prizes, meaning the amounts shown on the ticket aren't fixed jackpots. They're estimates based on expected ticket sales. Your actual payout depends on how many tickets were sold when you win. That's different from every other major state and worth understanding before you pick a game...
by Jessie Jurado