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Decent valueActiveGHOSTBUSTERS™ · $5 · Massachusetts Lottery
GHOSTBUSTERS™: Decent value. A $5 ticket pays back $3.90 on average.
▼ -0.4 pts vs launch#12 of 25 · $5 MA gamesUpdated Jun 15, 2026
▼ -0.4 pts vs launch#12 of 25 · $5 MA gamesUpdated Jun 15, 2026
GHOSTBUSTERS™ is a $5 scratch-off ticket from the Massachusetts state lottery. Its current expected value is 78.0%, down 0.4 percentage points from the launch value of 78.4%. 2 of the original 3 $1,000,000 ($50K/YR/20YRS) top prizes are still unclaimed. Approximately 34% of the 10.1M printed tickets have been sold.
78.0%
expected return
1 in 4.0
odds of any win
2 of 3
$1M jackpots left
34%
claimed · 3.4M of 10.1M printed
Odds, in plain terms
If you bought 100 tickets today
Based on the 1,654,029 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 1,319 tickets, so they won't show up in a batch of 100.
Value map
Where the $3.90 comes from
The average payback per ticket, split by prize size. Small wins do most of the work.
Small wins $5 – $500
$3.38 · 67.6% of price
Mid prizes $1K – $2K
$0.22 · 4.5% of price
Jackpots $1M+
$0.30 · 6.0% of price
Realistic return, jackpots set aside
72.0%
Just 2 tickets out of 6.7M 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
1,652,633 winning tickets remain in this range: 87% of total value, and the wins you'll actually see.
Claim progress
34% claimed, and the jackpots are still out there
Counting every ticket since launch, Sep 2025.
10.1M
tickets printed
3.4M
tickets claimed · 34%
6.7M
still out there
Prizes claimed over time
Claim chart needs more snapshot history
Jackpots are outlasting sales: good for buyers.
Jackpots left
67%
Tickets left
66%
67% of top prizes remain with only 66% 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
#12 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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