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Poor valueActive$500,000 a Year for Life$20 · $20 · Pennsylvania Lottery
$500,000 a Year for Life$20: Poor value. A $20 ticket pays back $11.24 on average.
▲ +0.0 pts vs launch#8 of 8 · $20 PA gamesUpdated Jun 16, 2026, 12:15 PM
▲ +0.0 pts vs launch#8 of 8 · $20 PA gamesUpdated Jun 16, 2026, 12:15 PM
$500,000 a Year for Life$20 is a $20 scratch-off ticket from the Pennsylvania state lottery. Its current expected value is 56.2%, up 0.0 percentage points from the launch value of 56.2%. 6 of the original 10 $50,000 top prizes are still unclaimed. Approximately 36% of the 8.4M printed tickets have been sold.
56.2%
expected return
1 in 3.46
odds of any win
6 of 10
$50K top prizes left
36%
claimed · 3M of 8.4M printed
Odds, in plain terms
If you bought 100 tickets today
Based on the 1,562,002 winning tickets still unclaimed.
12 win more than $20
$30 – $200, an actual profit
17 win their money back
a $20 prize, so you break even
71 win nothing
the house edge, made visible
Prizes of $500 or more hit about 1 in 359 tickets, so they won't show up in a batch of 100.
Value map
Where the $11.24 comes from
The average payback per ticket, split by prize size. Small wins do most of the work.
Small wins $20 – $500
$10.80 · 54.0% of price
Mid prizes $1K – $50K
$0.44 · 2.2% of price
Most of the value pays out as
$20 – $500 wins
1,560,669 winning tickets remain in this range: 96% of total value, and the wins you'll actually see.
Claim progress
36% of the print run claimed
Counting every ticket since launch.
8.4M
tickets printed
3M
tickets claimed · 36%
5.4M
still out there
Prizes claimed over time
Claim chart needs more snapshot history
Sales are outpacing the jackpots: worse for buyers.
Jackpots left
60%
Tickets left
64%
60% of top prizes remain with 64% of tickets left to claim them.
Where to buy
Pennsylvania Lottery
At retailers statewide, or online through Jackpocket. Affiliate link: Scratchstats may earn a commission.
Rank vs $20 PA peers
#8 of 8
By expected return. Higher is better for the player.
Figures from Pennsylvania Lottery published claim data, updated Jun 16, 2026, 12:15 PM.
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