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Strong valueActiveInstant Prize Crossword · $20 · California Lottery
Instant Prize Crossword: Strong value. A $20 ticket pays back $16.68 on average.
▲ +5.0 pts vs launch#3 of 14 · $20 CA gamesUpdated Jun 24, 2026, 12:05 PM
▲ +5.0 pts vs launch#3 of 14 · $20 CA gamesUpdated Jun 24, 2026, 12:05 PM
Instant Prize Crossword is a $20 scratch-off ticket from the California state lottery. Its current expected value is 83.4%, up 5.0 percentage points from the launch value of 78.3%. 3 of the original 19 $2,000,000 top prizes are still unclaimed. Approximately 91% of the 23.3M printed tickets have been sold.
83.4%
expected return
1 in 3.10
odds of any win
3 of 19
$2M jackpots left
91%
claimed · 21.1M of 23.3M printed
Odds, in plain terms
If you bought 100 tickets today
Based on the 690,713 winning tickets still unclaimed.
18 win more than $20
$25 – $250, an actual profit
14 win their money back
a $20 prize, so you break even
68 win nothing
the house edge, made visible
Prizes of $500 or more hit about 1 in 349 tickets, so they won't show up in a batch of 100.
Value map
Where the $16.68 comes from
The average payback per ticket, split by prize size. Small wins do most of the work.
Small wins $20 – $500
$12.31 · 61.6% of price
Mid prizes $1K – $25K
$1.61 · 8.1% of price
Jackpots $2M+
$2.76 · 13.8% of price
Realistic return, jackpots set aside
69.6%
Just 3 tickets out of 2.2M carry the $2M+ prizes. This is your expected return if none of them is yours.
Most of the value pays out as
$20 – $500 wins
688,170 winning tickets remain in this range: 74% of total value, and the wins you'll actually see.
Claim progress
91% claimed, and the jackpots are still out there
Counting every ticket since launch, Jul 2024.
23.3M
tickets printed
21.1M
tickets claimed · 91%
2.2M
still out there
Prizes claimed over time
Claim chart needs more snapshot history
Jackpots are outlasting sales: good for buyers.
Jackpots left
16%
Tickets left
9%
16% of top prizes remain with only 9% of tickets left to claim them.
Where to buy
California Lottery
At retailers statewide, or online through Jackpocket. Affiliate link: Scratchstats may earn a commission.
Rank vs $20 CA peers
#3 of 14
By expected return. Higher is better for the player.
Figures from California Lottery published claim data, updated Jun 24, 2026, 12:05 PM.
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