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Iowa · Best ValueScore™ Scratch-Offs

Last updated September 4, 2026

Iowa's #1 scratch-off right now is $300,000 Cashword with a ValueScore™ of 99/100. ValueScore™ combines expected value, prize quality, win frequency, and inventory health into a single 0 to 100 rating, updated daily.

72 active Iowa scratch off games are scored, with 11 rated Excellent (80 or above) and 14 rated Good (60 to 79). Statewide average ValueScore is 54.5.
Score bands: 80+ Excellent · 60 to 79 Good · 40 to 59 Fair · below 40 Below Average.
Why not just use the odds printed on the ticket?

Printed odds are set the day a game ships and never change, but the game itself does. Every week tickets sell and prizes get claimed, and the ticket can't tell you any of that. ValueScore™ re-scores every Iowa game from live prize data, so it knows when the top prizes are already gone from a game that still advertises great odds, and when a quiet game is sitting on all of its big prizes. Higher is better; details below the table.

RankGamePriceValueScore™Overall OddsTop Prize
1$300,000 Cashword$30991 in 2.28$300,000
2$300,000 JACKPOT$30951 in 2.29$300,000
350X The Cash$10931 in 2.84$100,000
4100X The Cash$20921 in 2.88$250,000
5$100,000 Cash Bonus$10891 in 2.81$100,000
6Triple Jackpot$10851 in 3.2$100,000
7$100,000 Riches$10821 in 2.84$100,000
8The Price Is Right$10811 in 2.87$100,000
9MONOPOLY DOUBLER (Game #782)$10811 in 2.86$100,000
10$100,000 Mega Crossword$10811 in 3.29$100,000
11MONOPOLY DOUBLER (Game #783)$20811 in 2.9$250,000
12Diamond Dollars$10801 in 2.86$100,000
13Gem 7s$20791 in 2.52$150,000
14200X THE WIN$20791 in 2.89$250,000
15Instant Jackpot$10711 in 3.25$100,000
16Green 7s$5701 in 3.7$50,000
17Fab 5s$5691 in 3.46$50,000
18Cash Frenzy$10691 in 3.24$100,000
19MONEY$10671 in 2.9$100,000
2020X The Cash$5661 in 3.83$50,000
21Golden Riches$10641 in 3.15$100,000
22Blackout Bingo$2641 in 3.56$25,000
23Lucky 7 Bonus$20641 in 2.88$250,000
24Mega Bucks$5611 in 3.67$50,000
25500X$50611 in 4.33$500,000
26X the Money$10571 in 2.86$100,000
27Cash Payout$5571 in 3.6$50,000
28One-Word Crossword$3571 in 3.82$30,000
2910X The Cash$2571 in 3.54$10,000
30Bullseye Cash$3561 in 3.11$30,000
31Bonus Cash Doubler$5561 in 3.74$50,000
32$50,000 Jackpot$5561 in 3.4$50,000
33JURASSIC WORLD$10561 in 2.84$100,000
34IOWA™ BLACKOUT$5561 in 3.4$50,000
353 Ways To Win!$2541 in 3.59$10,000
36MONOPOLY DOUBLER (Game #781)$5531 in 3.72$50,000
37Lucky Clover Crossword$5521 in 3.83$50,000
38SCRABBLE™ Crossword Game$10521 in 3.2$100,000
39Pirate's Treasure$3511 in 3.51$30,000
40Silver Streak$10501 in 3.25$100,000
41Retro Bolts$3471 in 3.67$30,000
42$50,000 Super Crossword$5471 in 3.26$50,000
43MONOPOLY DOUBLER (Game #780)$2461 in 3.64$20,000
44PAC-MAN®$5451 in 3.46$50,000
45$30,000 Crossword$3451 in 3.52$30,000
46Win It All$1431 in 4.88$3,500
47$100 Stacked$2431 in 3.73$20,000
48UNO™$3431 in 3.79$30,000
49Full of 300s$3421 in 3.57$300
50Scratch, Match & Win!$5421 in 3.65$50,000
51Money Rush$5411 in 3.61$50,000
52Fire 7s Ice 7s$5411 in 3.73$50,000
53Quick Cash$5401 in 3.67$50,000
545X The Cash$1401 in 4.59$5,000
55Joker's Wild$5401 in 3.6$50,000
56$50 Frenzy$1381 in 4.86$1,500
57Mega Money$2371 in 3.88$20,000
58Cool Cat$2371 in 3.64$10,000
59Super 7s$2361 in 3.93$17,777
60Unlock It$3361 in 3.51$3,000
61Word Games$3351 in 3.81$30,000
62Lucky Stars$3351 in 3.8$30,000
63Red Hot 7s$3341 in 3.51$30,000
64MONOPOLY DOUBLER$1341 in 4.81$5,000
65Wild Doubler$2331 in 3.83$10,000
66Words That Win$3331 in 3.8$30,000
67Xtra Bingo$2311 in 3.44$25,000
68Cash Blast$2301 in 3.65$20,000
69Lady Luck$1281 in 4.58$4,000
70Triple Luck$1281 in 4.57$6,000
71Triple It!$1201 in 4.5$900
72777$2171 in 3.94$10,000

How ValueScore is built

Most people judge a scratch off by two numbers: the overall odds printed on the ticket, and maybe how many prizes are left. Both are easy to read, and both mislead on their own. Overall odds only tell you how often any prize hits, and most of those are break-even reprints. A ticket can advertise 1 in 3 and still be a bad buy once the prizes worth winning are gone. Remaining-prize countshave the opposite blind spot: “400 prizes left” means nothing without the price, the odds, and how many of the top prizes are actually still in the pool.

ValueScore reads all of it at once and rates what those two numbers can’t see on their own. It blends the four signals that actually decide whether a ticket is worth buying, which is why our top pick in Iowa often looks nothing like the game with the flashiest odds:

  • Expected Value (weighted most heavily). Published per-ticket return across the full prize structure, not just the headline odds.
  • Prize Quality. How much of the payout sits in prizes worth winning versus tiny break-even reprints.
  • Win Frequency. Your probability of any prize per ticket.
  • Inventory Health. Top prizes still unclaimed versus tickets remaining. This is the one the ticket can’t show you: a game with great printed odds whose jackpots are already gone. (Exact weighting is proprietary.)

Scores recompute after every successful Iowa scrape, so a game listed at the top last week may have moved. See the national ValueScore ranking for cross-state context.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does the Best ValueScore™ Scratch-Offs ranking measure?
This page ranks Iowa scratch-off by ScratchCheck ValueScore, a 0 to 100 composite that weighs expected value, prize quality, win frequency, and inventory health. A score of 80 or above is Excellent, 60 to 79 is Good, 40 to 59 is Fair, and below 40 is Poor. ValueScore updates as prizes are claimed, so the top pick can shift week to week.
Which Iowa scratch-off is currently #1 for best valuescore™ scratch-offs?
The $300,000 Cashword ($30) currently ranks first with overall odds of 1 in 2.28 (ValueScore 99 of 100). Prize payout is 75.0%. Rankings update automatically as prize counts change, so the top pick can move. Open the game page for the full prize-tier breakdown and remaining counts.
How often does this ranking update?
Game data for Iowa is refreshed from official sources on a daily schedule. Whenever remaining-prize counts change, ValueScore and every dependent ranking are recomputed automatically. The "updated daily" stamp on the page reflects the most recent successful update.
How should I pick between the top few games in Iowa?
Rankings are a starting point, not a verdict. Two tickets that sit next to each other often differ on a dimension the headline metric ignores: price, top-prize size, or remaining inventory. Use the Budget & Goal Optimizer or the side-by-side Compare tool to weigh Breakeven probability, Jackpot Chase value, or published EV against your actual spend and goal.
Are these values official or estimated?
ScratchCheck uses official published odds and prize counts wherever the state makes them available. A small number of states publish only limited prize breakdowns; for those games ScratchCheck estimates Expected Value and related metrics from industry price-point averages and flags them with an "~Est." tag next to the number. Official figures always take precedence.