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Decent valueActiveCrossword Bonanza · $20 · New Jersey Lottery
Crossword Bonanza: Decent value. A $20 ticket pays back $15.20 on average.
▲ +3.8 pts vs launch#1 of 9 · $20 NJ gamesUpdated Aug 2, 2026, 12:26 AM
▲ +3.8 pts vs launch#1 of 9 · $20 NJ gamesUpdated Aug 2, 2026, 12:26 AM
Crossword Bonanza is a $20 scratch-off ticket from the New Jersey state lottery. Its current expected value is 76.0%, up 3.8 percentage points from the launch value of 72.2%. 1 of the original 3 $400,000 top prizes are still unclaimed. Approximately 90% of the 2.4M printed tickets have been sold.
76.0%
expected return
1 in 3.56
odds of any win
1 of 3
$400K top prizes left
90%
claimed · 2.1M of 2.4M printed
Odds, in plain terms
If you bought 100 tickets today
Based on the 62,851 winning tickets still unclaimed.
16 win more than $20
$30 – $200, an actual profit
11 win their money back
a $20 prize, so you break even
73 win nothing
the house edge, made visible
Prizes of $500 or more hit about 1 in 313 tickets, so they won't show up in a batch of 100.
Value map
Where the $15.20 comes from
The average payback per ticket, split by prize size. Small wins do most of the work.
Small wins $20 – $500
$12.82 · 64.1% of price
Mid prizes $2K – $400K
$2.38 · 11.9% of price
Most of the value pays out as
$20 – $500 wins
62,827 winning tickets remain in this range: 84% 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, Feb 2026.
2.4M
tickets printed
2.1M
tickets claimed · 90%
226k
still out there
Prizes claimed over time
Claim chart needs more snapshot history
Jackpots are outlasting sales: good for buyers.
Jackpots left
33%
Tickets left
10%
33% of top prizes remain with only 10% of tickets left to claim them.
Where to buy
New Jersey Lottery
At retailers statewide, or online through Jackpocket. Affiliate link: Scratchstats may earn a commission.
Rank vs $20 NJ peers
#1 of 9
By expected return. Higher is better for the player.
Figures from New Jersey Lottery published claim data, updated Aug 2, 2026, 12:26 AM.
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