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The Compare Tool

Compare New Jersey Scratch-Offs

$1,000,000 Payday vs Jersey Riches

Put any two active New Jersey scratch-offs side by side. We score each on ValueScore, expected value, payout rate, overall odds, big-win odds, break-even chance, and top-prize health, then call a winner so you can tell which ticket your dollar goes further on.

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OUR PICK
Higher ValueScore (96 vs 85)
Go with $1,000,000 Payday.

Jersey Riches has a better expected value and a higher payout rate (1.2 pts), but $1,000,000 Payday leads on a higher ValueScore (96 vs 85) and more top prizes left (9 vs 2), and ValueScore weighs all of it together.

Price
ticket cost
SAME PRICE
$1,000,000 Payday
$30
Jersey Riches
$30
ValueScore
composite quality index, higher is better
$1,000,000 Payday WINS
$1,000,000 Payday
96
Jersey Riches
85
Expected value
average return per $1 played
Jersey Riches WINS
$1,000,000 Payday
$0.77
Jersey Riches
$0.78
Payout rate
share of sales returned to players
Jersey Riches WINS
$1,000,000 Payday
77.2%
Jersey Riches
78.4%
Overall odds
chance of winning any prize, lower is better
Jersey Riches WINS
$1,000,000 Payday
1 in 3.64
Jersey Riches
1 in 3.48
Odds of a $1,000+ win
best single-tier odds at $1,000 or more
Jersey Riches WINS
$1,000,000 Payday
1 in 29,899
Jersey Riches
1 in 23,522
Break-even on $100
chance to win back $100 or more spending $100
$1,000,000 Payday
-
Jersey Riches
28%
Top prize
advertised jackpot
Jersey Riches WINS
$1,000,000 Payday
$1M
Jersey Riches
$3M
Top prizes left
top prizes still unclaimed
$1,000,000 Payday WINS
$1,000,000 Payday
9
Jersey Riches
2
Final score
Image credit: New Jersey Lottery
Winner
$1,000,000 Payday
2
metric wins
Image credit: New Jersey Lottery
Jersey Riches
5
metric wins
$1,000,000 Payday wins on ValueScore (96 vs 85), the score that weighs every metric together, even though Jersey Riches leads 5 of the individual metrics.
How it works

Three steps to a smarter pick.

  1. STEP 1
    Pick Game A
    Choose any active New Jersey scratch-off from the first dropdown. Filter by price if you want to compare tickets at the same tier.
  2. STEP 2
    Pick Game B
    Choose a second game from the other dropdown. Both games appear as ticket thumbnails once selected.
  3. STEP 3
    Read the verdict
    We compare eight metrics including ValueScore, expected value, payout rate, overall odds, big-win odds, and break-even chance. The OUR PICK banner names the winner and explains why.
FAQ

Common questions.

What is ValueScore?

ValueScore is a composite index from 0 to 100 that blends expected value, prize quality, win frequency, and inventory health. Higher is better. It lets you rank games across price tiers without manually weighing four separate metrics.

Why are lower overall odds better?

Overall odds of 1 in X describe how many tickets you would need to buy on average to hit any prize. Lower X means more frequent wins, though most wins at that frequency are small. Pair overall odds with expected value to see if those wins are actually worthwhile.

How is expected value calculated?

Expected value is the average return per dollar played, from the game's printed prize structure: the total value of every prize the lottery printed, divided by the money the full print run takes in. A $1 ticket returning $0.70 on average has an EV of $0.70. It does not move as prizes are claimed, so check top prizes left too: a game whose jackpots are mostly gone is worth less than its EV suggests.

How does the verdict pick a winner?

When the two ValueScores are 5 or more points apart, the higher ValueScore is the pick: it is the composite that weighs every factor together, including how many top prizes are left, and it is how the rest of the site ranks games. When they are closer, the verdict tallies eight metrics (ValueScore, expected value, payout rate, overall odds, odds of winning $1,000 or more, break-even chance on $100, top prize, and top prizes still unclaimed) and picks the game that wins more of them. Metrics where the games are even, or where either game has no data, count for neither side. A tied tally goes to the higher ValueScore, and a dead heat across everything shows as a toss-up.

How often is this data updated?

Scratch off data refreshes daily from the New Jersey lottery. Remaining top prizes can shift during the day as prizes are claimed, but price, overall odds, and payout rate only change when the lottery updates its public pack data.