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Strong valueActive$500 CA$H · $5 · Massachusetts Lottery
$500 CA$H: Strong value. A $5 ticket pays back $4.14 on average.
▲ +4.4 pts vs launch#1 of 25 · $5 MA gamesUpdated Jun 15, 2026
▲ +4.4 pts vs launch#1 of 25 · $5 MA gamesUpdated Jun 15, 2026
$500 CA$H is a $5 scratch-off ticket from the Massachusetts state lottery. Its current expected value is 82.8%, up 4.4 percentage points from the launch value of 78.4%. 4 of the original 4 $1,000,000 ($50K/YR/20YRS) top prizes are still unclaimed. Approximately 50% of the 15.1M printed tickets have been sold.
82.8%
expected return
1 in 4.2
odds of any win
4 of 4
$1M jackpots left
50%
claimed · 7.5M of 15.1M printed
Odds, in plain terms
If you bought 100 tickets today
Based on the 1,815,775 winning tickets still unclaimed.
14 win more than $5
$10 – $100, an actual profit
10 win their money back
a $5 prize, so you break even
76 win nothing
the house edge, made visible
Prizes of $500 or more hit about 1 in 1,006 tickets, so they won't show up in a batch of 100.
Value map
Where the $4.14 comes from
The average payback per ticket, split by prize size. Small wins do most of the work.
Small wins $5 – $500
$3.34 · 66.8% of price
Mid prizes $1K – $10K
$0.27 · 5.5% of price
Jackpots $1M+
$0.53 · 10.6% of price
Realistic return, jackpots set aside
72.2%
Just 4 tickets out of 7.6M carry the $1M+ prizes. This is your expected return if none of them is yours.
Most of the value pays out as
$5 – $500 wins
1,814,657 winning tickets remain in this range: 81% of total value, and the wins you'll actually see.
Claim progress
50% claimed, and the jackpots are still out there
Counting every ticket since launch, Jul 2025.
15.1M
tickets printed
7.5M
tickets claimed · 50%
7.6M
still out there
Prizes claimed over time
Claim chart needs more snapshot history
Jackpots are outlasting sales: good for buyers.
Jackpots left
100%
Tickets left
50%
100% of top prizes remain with only 50% 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
#1 of 25
By expected return. Higher is better for the player.
Figures from Massachusetts Lottery published claim data, updated Jun 15, 2026.
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