Scratch-Off Remaining Prizes & Best Odds
Before you buy a scratch-off ticket, check what's actually left to win. We track the remaining top prizes and overall odds for every active game and update it every day — so you can see which tickets still have their big prizes unclaimed, and which have already paid them out. Pick a state below to get started, or read on to learn how to use the data.
Choose your state
More states are being added. We only list a state once its data is fully tracked and updated daily.
Why remaining prizes matter more than the jackpot
Every scratch-off game is printed as a fixed batch. When a $5 game launches advertising a $1,000,000 top prize, the lottery prints a set number of every prize in that game — maybe four grand prizes, a dozen $10,000 winners, a few hundred $1,000 winners, and so on down to the small stuff. Those numbers never go up. They only come down as players buy tickets and claim what they win.
Here's the catch: a game stays on sale in stores even after its best prizes are gone. You can walk into a shop months after launch, see a bright ticket promising a million dollars, and buy it — when in reality every million-dollar prize was claimed weeks ago and all that's left are the small ones. The ticket costs the same, but the value is completely different. That's the single most useful thing remaining-prize data tells you: whether the prizes you're hoping for are still actually in the pool.
How to read a scratch-off game the smart way
There are three numbers worth checking before you spend money, and all three are on every game page here:
- Top prizes remaining. If a game's grand prizes are all claimed, the main reason to play it is gone. A brand-new game with every top prize still available is almost always a better use of the same dollar.
- Overall odds. This is your chance of winning any prize, printed as "1 in X." A game at 1 in 3.5 hands out a small win far more often than one at 1 in 4.8. Lower is better.
- Percentage claimed by prize level. Seeing that 80% of a tier is already gone tells you the game is late in its life. Freshly launched games, where little has been claimed, give you the fullest prize pool.
None of this changes the odds of the specific ticket in your hand — a scratch-off is still a game of chance, and nothing can predict a single ticket. What the data does is stop you from buying a game that literally cannot pay the prize you're chasing.
How we get the numbers
Our data comes straight from the official state lottery. Each day we collect the published prize tables for every active game — the total number of each prize originally printed, and how many remain unclaimed — and store it so you can see the current picture at a glance. Because we also keep yesterday's figures, we can show you when top prizes have just been claimed, which is something the official sites don't display. We update once daily; the lottery's own live totals can shift slightly between updates, so always confirm with the official source before you buy.
A few honest tips before you play
- Set a budget first and treat it as entertainment spending, never an investment.
- At the same price, prefer newer games where top prizes are still available.
- Compare games at your price point side by side rather than grabbing the flashiest ticket.
- Remember that better remaining prizes improve the value of a game, not your odds on one ticket. The lottery always keeps an edge.
- If playing ever stops being fun, step away. See our Responsible Gambling page.
Frequently asked questions
Does checking remaining prizes improve my odds of winning?
Not on an individual ticket — each scratch-off is independent and random. What it improves is your value: you avoid paying full price for a game whose top prizes are already gone, and you can choose games that still have the biggest prizes and the best overall odds.
How often is the data updated?
Once every day. We pull the latest official remaining-prize figures each morning, so the counts you see reflect the most recent daily update rather than live, second-by-second sales.
What does "overall odds" actually mean?
It's the chance of winning any prize at all on that game, shown as "1 in X." At 1 in 4.00, about one in every four tickets wins something — often just your money back or a small amount. It is not the chance of hitting the top prize, which is far rarer.
Should I always buy the game with the best odds?
Not necessarily. Best overall odds means you win small prizes more often, but a game with slightly worse odds might still have all its top prizes available. The right choice depends on whether you're playing for frequent small wins or chasing a big one. Both numbers are on every game page so you can decide.
Why is a game still sold if its top prizes are gone?
Lotteries keep games on sale until they officially end them, which can be long after the grand prizes are claimed. Lower-tier prizes usually remain, so the game still technically pays out — just not the headline amount on the ticket. This is exactly why checking first is worth it.
Are you affiliated with the lottery?
No. ScratchOffChecker is an independent informational site. We don't sell tickets, pay prizes, or operate any lottery. We simply organize publicly available official data to make it easier to use. You must be 18 or older to play.