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Decent valueActive$250,000 JACKPOT · $5 · Massachusetts Lottery
$250,000 JACKPOT: Decent value. A $5 ticket pays back $3.80 on average.
▼ -0.4 pts vs launch#21 of 27 · $5 MA gamesUpdated Jul 31, 2026, 12:15 PM
▼ -0.4 pts vs launch#21 of 27 · $5 MA gamesUpdated Jul 31, 2026, 12:15 PM
$250,000 JACKPOT is a $5 scratch-off ticket from the Massachusetts state lottery. Its current expected value is 76.0%, down 0.4 percentage points from the launch value of 76.4%. 2 of the original 3 $250,000 top prizes are still unclaimed. Approximately 26% of the 8.1M printed tickets have been sold.
76.0%
expected return
1 in 4.01
odds of any win
2 of 3
$250K top prizes left
26%
claimed · 2.1M of 8.1M printed
Odds, in plain terms
If you bought 100 tickets today
Based on the 1,492,225 winning tickets still unclaimed.
15 win more than $5
$10 – $100, an actual profit
10 win their money back
a $5 prize, so you break even
75 win nothing
the house edge, made visible
Prizes of $500 or more hit about 1 in 1,355 tickets, so they won't show up in a batch of 100.
Value map
Where the $3.80 comes from
The average payback per ticket, split by prize size. Small wins do most of the work.
Small wins $5 – $500
$3.52 · 70.4% of price
Mid prizes $1K – $250K
$0.28 · 5.6% of price
Most of the value pays out as
$5 – $500 wins
1,491,389 winning tickets remain in this range: 93% of total value, and the wins you'll actually see.
Claim progress
26% of the print run claimed
Counting every ticket since launch, Mar 2026.
8.1M
tickets printed
2.1M
tickets claimed · 26%
6M
still out there
Prizes claimed over time
Claim chart needs more snapshot history
Sales are outpacing the jackpots: worse for buyers.
Jackpots left
67%
Tickets left
74%
67% of top prizes remain with 74% of tickets left to claim them.
Where to buy
Massachusetts Lottery
At retailers statewide, or online through Jackpocket. Affiliate link: Scratchstats may earn a commission.
Rank vs $5 MA peers
#21 of 27
By expected return. Higher is better for the player.
Figures from Massachusetts Lottery published claim data, updated Jul 31, 2026, 12:15 PM.
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