C
Average valueActiveMEGA Crossword · $5 · California Lottery
MEGA Crossword: Average value. A $5 ticket pays back $3.44 on average.
▼ -0.2 pts vs launch#4 of 9 · $5 CA gamesUpdated Jun 18, 2026, 12:06 AM
▼ -0.2 pts vs launch#4 of 9 · $5 CA gamesUpdated Jun 18, 2026, 12:06 AM
MEGA Crossword is a $5 scratch-off ticket from the California state lottery. Its current expected value is 68.8%, down 0.2 percentage points from the launch value of 69.0%. 12 of the original 20 $75,000 top prizes are still unclaimed. Approximately 53% of the 24.6M printed tickets have been sold.
68.8%
expected return
1 in 3.82
odds of any win
12 of 20
$75K top prizes left
53%
claimed · 13.1M of 24.6M printed
Odds, in plain terms
If you bought 100 tickets today
Based on the 3,025,204 winning tickets still unclaimed.
17 win more than $5
$10 – $100, an actual profit
9 win their money back
a $5 prize, so you break even
74 win nothing
the house edge, made visible
Prizes of $500 or more hit about 1 in 2,799 tickets, so they won't show up in a batch of 100.
Value map
Where the $3.44 comes from
The average payback per ticket, split by prize size. Small wins do most of the work.
Small wins $5 – $500
$3.26 · 65.2% of price
Mid prizes $1K – $75K
$0.18 · 3.6% of price
Most of the value pays out as
$5 – $500 wins
3,024,696 winning tickets remain in this range: 95% of total value, and the wins you'll actually see.
Claim progress
53% claimed, and the jackpots are still out there
Counting every ticket since launch, Feb 2026.
24.6M
tickets printed
13.1M
tickets claimed · 53%
11.5M
still out there
Prizes claimed over time
Claim chart needs more snapshot history
Jackpots are outlasting sales: good for buyers.
Jackpots left
60%
Tickets left
47%
60% of top prizes remain with only 47% 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 $5 CA peers
#4 of 9
By expected return. Higher is better for the player.
Figures from California Lottery published claim data, updated Jun 18, 2026, 12:06 AM.
S
Scratchstats