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Strong valueActiveInstant Prize Crossword · $20 · California Lottery
Instant Prize Crossword: Strong value. A $20 ticket pays back $16.44 on average.
▲ +3.9 pts vs launch#3 of 13 · $20 CA gamesUpdated Jun 18, 2026, 12:05 AM
▲ +3.9 pts vs launch#3 of 13 · $20 CA gamesUpdated Jun 18, 2026, 12:05 AM
Instant Prize Crossword is a $20 scratch-off ticket from the California state lottery. Its current expected value is 82.2%, up 3.9 percentage points from the launch value of 78.3%. 3 of the original 19 $2,000,000 top prizes are still unclaimed. Approximately 90% of the 23.3M printed tickets have been sold.
82.2%
expected return
1 in 3.10
odds of any win
3 of 19
$2M jackpots left
90%
claimed · 20.9M of 23.3M printed
Odds, in plain terms
If you bought 100 tickets today
Based on the 757,470 winning tickets still unclaimed.
18 win more than $20
$25 – $250, an actual profit
14 win their money back
a $20 prize, so you break even
68 win nothing
the house edge, made visible
Prizes of $500 or more hit about 1 in 352 tickets, so they won't show up in a batch of 100.
Value map
Where the $16.44 comes from
The average payback per ticket, split by prize size. Small wins do most of the work.
Small wins $20 – $500
$12.36 · 61.8% of price
Mid prizes $1K – $25K
$1.56 · 7.8% of price
Jackpots $2M+
$2.52 · 12.6% of price
Realistic return, jackpots set aside
69.6%
Just 3 tickets out of 2.4M carry the $2M+ prizes. This is your expected return if none of them is yours.
Most of the value pays out as
$20 – $500 wins
754,770 winning tickets remain in this range: 75% of total value, and the wins you'll actually see.
Claim progress
90% claimed, and the jackpots are still out there
Counting every ticket since launch, Jul 2024.
23.3M
tickets printed
20.9M
tickets claimed · 90%
2.4M
still out there
Prizes claimed over time
Claim chart needs more snapshot history
Jackpots are outlasting sales: good for buyers.
Jackpots left
16%
Tickets left
10%
16% of top prizes remain with only 10% of tickets left to claim them.
Where to buy
California Lottery
At retailers statewide, or online through Jackpocket. Affiliate link: Scratchstats may earn a commission.
Rank vs $20 CA peers
#3 of 13
By expected return. Higher is better for the player.
Figures from California Lottery published claim data, updated Jun 18, 2026, 12:05 AM.
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