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Poor valueActive500 BUCKS · $5 · Wisconsin Lottery
500 BUCKS: Poor value. A $5 ticket pays back $2.12 on average.
▼ -20.6 pts vs launch#16 of 16 · $5 WI gamesUpdated Jun 17, 2026, 6:12 AM
▼ -20.6 pts vs launch#16 of 16 · $5 WI gamesUpdated Jun 17, 2026, 6:12 AM
500 BUCKS is a $5 scratch-off ticket from the Wisconsin state lottery. Its current expected value is 42.4%, down 20.6 percentage points from the launch value of 63.0%. 31 of the original 2,584 $500 top prizes are still unclaimed. Approximately 1% of the 1.2M printed tickets have been sold.
42.4%
expected return
1 in 3.90
odds of any win
31 of 2,584
$500 top prizes left
1%
claimed · 10k of 1.2M printed
Odds, in plain terms
If you bought 100 tickets today
Based on the 309,841 winning tickets still unclaimed.
9 win more than $5
$10 – $100, an actual profit
17 win their money back
a $5 prize, so you break even
74 win nothing
the house edge, made visible
Prizes of $500 or more hit about 1 in 38,863 tickets, so they won't show up in a batch of 100.
Value map
Where the $2.12 comes from
The average payback per ticket, split by prize size. Small wins do most of the work.
Small wins $5 – $500
$2.12 · 42.4% of price
Most of the value pays out as
$5 – $500 wins
309,841 winning tickets remain in this range: 100% of total value, and the wins you'll actually see.
Claim progress
1% of the print run claimed
Counting every ticket since launch, Aug 2025.
1.2M
tickets printed
10k
tickets claimed · 1%
1.2M
still out there
Prizes claimed over time
Claim chart needs more snapshot history
Sales are outpacing the jackpots: worse for buyers.
Jackpots left
1%
Tickets left
99%
1% of top prizes remain with 99% of tickets left to claim them.
Where to buy
Wisconsin Lottery
At retailers statewide, or online through Jackpocket. Affiliate link: Scratchstats may earn a commission.
Rank vs $5 WI peers
#16 of 16
By expected return. Higher is better for the player.
Figures from Wisconsin Lottery published claim data, updated Jun 17, 2026, 6:12 AM.
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