Merry Money
Image Credit: New Mexico Lottery
42
VALUESCORE
Fair
The New Mexico Lottery sells Merry Money at $1 a ticket. Published overall odds: 1 in 3.93. Its current expected value works out to $0.60 on the dollar, a below-average return. The top prize is $20. By our count about half the prizes remain, with 30% of all prizes unclaimed. On ScratchCheck's 0-100 ValueScore it earns a 42 (Fair). Today it stands at 34th out of 56 New Mexico scratch-offs; among $1 tickets it is 5th of the 13 active $1 games in New Mexico.
Overall Odds
1 in 3.93
Exp. Value
$0.60
per $1 spent
Top Prize
$20
Top Prizes Left
1,015
Prizes Remaining
30%
ValueScore™
42 / 100
Fair
Should I Buy This Ticket?
Expected value per $1 spent:
$0.60→
AVERAGE
Nothing wrong with it, but nothing special either; it is 5th of the 13 active $1 games in New Mexico.
Why
→Weak prize quality: relatively few of the bigger top and mid-tier prizes are still unclaimed.
- Late in this game's life: the remaining prize pool is small.
- About a 25% chance of a prize on each ticket (1 in 3.93), in line with most games.
Current Prize Odds
ScratchCheck estimate$20
1,015 of 4,217 left
launch odds 1 in 127
now ~1 in 157
$10
1,495 of 6,278 left
launch odds 1 in 85
now ~1 in 106
$5
4,431 of 18,853 left
launch odds 1 in 28
now ~1 in 36
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $20 | 1 in 149 | 4,217 | 1,015 | 24% |
| $10 | 1 in 100 | 6,278 | 1,495 | 24% |
| $5 | 1 in 33 | 18,853 | 4,431 | 24% |
| $2 | 1 in 20 | 31,480 | 10,488 | 33% |
| $1 | 1 in 8 | 75,574 | 23,044 | 30% |
Prize Pool Analysis
Total Payout at Launch
$379,919
Current Prize Pool
$101,425
Payout Percentage
26.7%
Total Prizes Remaining
40,473
Ticket Statistics
Total Tickets Printed
536,060
Estimated Remaining
159,059
% Remaining
29.7%
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
42
VALUESCORE
Fair
42
out of 100
Expected Value
23/40
Prize Quality
6/25
Win Frequency
8/20
Inventory Health
4/15
Updated: 9/4/2026
Game Details
- State
- New Mexico
- Game Number
- 661
- Ticket Price
- $1
- Start Date
- 10/7/2025
- Payout %
- 60.3%
- Data Source
- Official
- Last Updated
- 9/4/2026
Compare
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Image Credit: New Mexico Lottery
$1.00 per ticket · 1 in 3.93 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 Merry Money scratch-off a good buy?
Merry Money is a middling ticket with a ValueScore of 42/100. It is roughly average compared to other scratch-offs in New Mexico. If you are looking for the best value at this price point, check the New Mexico rankings page for higher-rated alternatives.
How much does Merry Money cost?
Merry Money costs $1 per ticket in New Mexico. All ScratchCheck figures for this game (expected value, ValueScore, and top prize analysis) are calculated against this $1 ticket price.
What are the odds of winning the Merry Money scratch-off?
The overall odds of winning any prize with Merry Money are 1 in 3.93. This means roughly 1 in every 4 tickets wins a prize of any amount.
What is the top prize for Merry Money?
The top prize for Merry Money is $20. As of our latest update, 1,015 top prizes remain unclaimed.
What are the prizes for Merry Money?
Merry Money offers 5 distinct prize levels: $20 (4,217 total), $10 (6,278 total), $5 (18,853 total), $2 (31,480 total), and $1 (75,574 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 Merry Money?
Based on our latest data, 30% of all prize tickets remain (approximately 40,473 out of 136,402 total). The game is winding down. A significant portion of prizes have already been claimed.
How is Merry Money rated by ScratchCheck?
ScratchCheck rates Merry Money at 42 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 Merry Money released?
Merry Money was released by the New Mexico Lottery on October 7, 2025. It has been on sale for roughly 11 months, so a meaningful portion of prizes has likely been claimed.
How often is Merry Money data updated on ScratchCheck?
Merry Money data comes directly from the official New Mexico Lottery and is refreshed daily, so the odds and remaining prize counts you see match the lottery's latest published figures.