Set for Life
Image Credit: California Lottery
40
VALUESCORE
Fair
Set for Life is a $2 scratch-off lottery ticket from the California Lottery. The published overall odds are 1 in 4.44. Right now the math works out to $0.67 back per $1 spent, an average figure for this kind of game. The top prize is $1,200,000. Across every tier, 67% of prizes are still out there: most prizes are still available. It scores 40/100 (Fair) on ScratchCheck's ValueScore. That makes it #33 of the 52 active games we track in California, and 2nd among the 7 $2 games California sells.
Overall Odds
1 in 4.44
Exp. Value
$0.67
per $1 spent
Top Prize
$1,200,000
$4,000 a month for 25 years
Top Prizes Left
2
Prizes Remaining
67%
ValueScore™
40 / 100
Fair
Should I Buy This Ticket?
Expected value per $1 spent:
$0.67→
AVERAGE
Nothing wrong with it, but nothing special either; it is in the top third of California's 7 $2 tickets, at 2nd.
Why
→Prizes hit less often here, roughly 23% per ticket (1 in 4.44).
- At $0.67 back per $1, the return here is middle-of-the-road for this price point.
- Strong prize quality: a healthy share of the bigger top and mid-tier prizes are still unclaimed.
Current Prize Odds
ScratchCheck estimate$1,200,000
$4,000 a month for 25 years
2 of 2 left
launch odds 1 in 6.0M
now ~1 in 4.0M
$3,000
17 of 21 left
launch odds 1 in 572K
now ~1 in 471K
$1,000
58 of 100 left
launch odds 1 in 120K
now ~1 in 138K
ScratchCheck estimate. Current odds are derived from the prizes still unclaimed and our estimate of tickets remaining, shown next to the lottery’s printed launch odds. Actual odds vary as tickets are sold and prizes claimed.
Prize Breakdown
| Prize | Odds | Total | Left | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $1,200,000 ($4,000 a month for 25 years) | 1 in 6,000,000 | 2 | 2 | 100% |
| $3,000 | 1 in 571,429 | 21 | 17 | 81% |
| $1,000 | 1 in 120,000 | 100 | 58 | 58% |
| $200 | 1 in 21,390 | 561 | 359 | 64% |
| $100 | 1 in 7,937 | 1,512 | 945 | 63% |
| $75 | 1 in 5,911 | 2,030 | 1,248 | 61% |
| $40 | 1 in 750 | 15,996 | 10,105 | 63% |
| $25 | 1 in 274 | 43,831 | 28,199 | 64% |
| $20 | 1 in 100 | 120,000 | 77,182 | 64% |
| $10 | 1 in 50 | 240,000 | 156,300 | 65% |
| $5 | 1 in 25 | 480,000 | 317,267 | 66% |
| $3 | 1 in 20 | 600,000 | 401,314 | 67% |
| $2 | 1 in 10 | 1,200,000 | 809,068 | 67% |
Prize Pool Analysis
Total Payout at Launch
$16,114,265
Current Prize Pool
$11,393,128
Payout Percentage
70.7%
Total Prizes Remaining
1,802,064
Ticket Statistics
Total Tickets Printed
12,005,995
Estimated Remaining
8,001,164
% Remaining
66.6%
Prize pool figures use advertised prize values. Tickets printed is estimated from overall odds. Tickets remaining is estimated from the share of prizes still unclaimed.
ValueScore™ Breakdown
40
VALUESCORE
Fair
40
out of 100
Expected Value
10/40
Prize Quality
15/25
Win Frequency
3/20
Inventory Health
12/15
Updated: 9/4/2026
Game Details
- State
- California
- Game Number
- 1736
- Ticket Price
- $2
- Start Date
- 7/27/2026
- Payout %
- 67.1%
- Data Source
- Official
- Last Updated
- 9/4/2026
Compare
Compare this game with another →Official Source
View on California Lottery ↗Simulate This Game
Run a virtual scratch-off using this game's real odds.
Image Credit: California Lottery
$2.00 per ticket · 1 in 4.44 overall odds
✓ Accounts for prizes already claimed
Entertainment only. Outcomes are random and won't match a real session. Current-odds mode scales each tier by remaining prizes and tickets.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Set for Life scratch-off a good buy?
Set for Life is a middling ticket with a ValueScore of 40/100. It is roughly average compared to other scratch-offs in California. If you are looking for the best value at this price point, check the California rankings page for higher-rated alternatives.
How much does Set for Life cost?
Set for Life costs $2 per ticket in California. All ScratchCheck figures for this game (expected value, ValueScore, and top prize analysis) are calculated against this $2 ticket price.
What are the odds of winning the Set for Life scratch-off?
The overall odds of winning any prize with Set for Life are 1 in 4.44. This means roughly 1 in every 4 tickets wins a prize of any amount.
What is the top prize for Set for Life?
The top prize for Set for Life is $1,200,000. As of our latest update, 2 top prizes remain unclaimed.
What are the prizes for Set for Life?
Set for Life offers 13 distinct prize levels: $1,200,000 (2 total), $3,000 (21 total), $1,000 (100 total), $200 (561 total), $100 (1,512 total), $75 (2,030 total), $40 (15,996 total), $25 (43,831 total), $20 (120,000 total), $10 (240,000 total), $5 (480,000 total), $3 (600,000 total), and $2 (1,200,000 total). The full prize breakdown with odds and remaining counts is listed in the prize table on this page.
How many prizes are left in Set for Life?
Based on our latest data, 67% of all prize tickets remain (approximately 1,802,064 out of 2,704,053 total). Roughly half the prizes remain, which is typical for an active game.
How is Set for Life rated by ScratchCheck?
ScratchCheck rates Set for Life at 40 out of 100 using ValueScore™, a composite rating built from four factors: Expected Value, Prize Quality, Win Frequency, and Inventory Health. Scores of 80 or above are Excellent, 60 to 79 Good, 40 to 59 Fair, 20 to 39 Below Average, and below 20 is Poor. The score updates automatically as prizes are claimed and data refreshes.
When was Set for Life released?
Set for Life was released by the California Lottery on July 27, 2026. It has been on sale for about 1 month.
How often is Set for Life data updated on ScratchCheck?
Set for Life data comes directly from the official California Lottery and is refreshed daily, so the odds and remaining prize counts you see match the lottery's latest published figures.