Entertainment and instant gratification are just two of the reasons why Americans love the dizzying array of scratch-off games.
Popular pastime
Only a part of the findings from a 2020 study conducted by Lending Tree reported that, on a regular basis, more than half of the country’s citizens played the lottery.
Going one step further, Lending Tree also discovered how Americans participate in the lottery. The takeaway was that of those Americans who buy tickets, 86% buy scratch-offs, and 65% buy lottery tickets.
Thus, it would make sense that from New York to California and nearly every state in between, you’ll find large percentages of the population with a penchant for purchasing and playing scratch-off tickets.
What’s the big draw?
For many, their gameplay has evolved from that of a mere flirtation to a deep relationship with their favorite game(s).
1. Instant gratification
When players initially find scratch-offs, they may be encouraged by the chance to win easy money. Work or other money-producing endeavors require an investment of time and effort, but if you scratch and win, it truly is possible to walk away a big winner.
Over time, however, moving beyond satisfying one’s desire for instant gratification, players may discover a host of other reasons as to why they persist in playing day after day.
2. Break-time
In the article entitled, The Enduring Allure of Scratch-Off Lottery Tickets, writer Elisabeth Sherman explains, “They bring levity to the stress of day-to-day life by feeding the blind hope that chance is all that stands in the way of changing our circumstances.”
3. Eye-candy
Rows of neatly hung tickets with their creative designs, intriguing prizes, and whimsical-like games call out to players as they enter into a convenience store or pass by a lottery vending machine.
Because state lotteries often rely upon bright/neon colors, bold lettering, and money-centric names punctuated by common lottery descriptors such as Mega Multiplier, Jackpot, Stacks of Cash, Millions, Riches, and Diamond, just to name a few, they immediately get consumers’ attention and, ultimately, money.
Plus, to further build excitement around the tickets and stoke players’ interest, state lotteries have gotten exceptionally good at maintaining a heightened level of anticipation by releasing new games on a monthly basis, running crowd-pleasing seasonal promotions, and dangling gasp-worthy prizes just slightly out of players’ reach.
4. Variety
At any given time, a shop that sells lottery tickets may have upwards of 30 or so games from which players can choose. From genres of games to classes of dollar amounts (typically scratch-offs range from $1 to $50), individual states in the U.S. have a scratch-off to please just about everyone.
Scratch-off categories
Before we dig into the specific state-based games that have notable fan bases, we will first lay out the three primary categories of scratch-off tickets: crosswords & bingo games, perennials, and a catch-all for those featuring matching call numbers, legends, and symbols, all of which are fancifully used to indicate winning tickets.
When mounting a full-scale publicity campaign, there’s nothing quite like a promotional tie-in to help build momentum around a film (National Lampoon), television (Price is Right), game (Monopoly), or other artistic property’s debut or upcoming release.
Disney theme parks, blockbuster action movies, and comedic buddy films (Ghostbusters) are all examples of past crossovers involving the lottery.
A fifth category would be special-interest tickets used to raise funds for specific causes and/or non-profit groups. Usually, the arrival of these tickets coincides with a related anniversary or other notable connection, e.g., breast cancer awareness in October and Special Olympics in August.
Crosswords & bingos
This category of tickets never seems to go away are those that could be grouped together under the heading of traditional: crosswords in dollar amounts ranging from $3 to $50 (s) and bingo games ranging in dollar amounts from $3 to $25.
From state to state, these two games have been players’ go-to tickets since the inception of the games. But even within this specific category, there are those that players consider to be most sacred, e.g., $10 crosswords (with varying names based upon the state).
Perennials
Next up are the perennials, meaning tickets that tend to regularly pop up at select times either to coincide with a special holiday or a time of year, like January, when many of the state lotteries traditionally offer tickets from the Win for Life family in five neon highlighter colors (yellow, pink, orange, blue and green) and five dollar amounts: $1, $2, $5, $10 and $20. Familiar and recognizable, players tend to look forward to the range of possibilities these tickets present when the new year comes around.
Matching numbers/symbols
In a wide spectrum of stylistic offerings, these are likely the most common of all scratch-offs. Presented under a host of different names, regardless of whether it’s called Lucky 7s, Diamond Jubilee, or Cash Windfall, the way to win is to scratch off the players' card and the dealers’ numbers in the hopes of finding a match. Usually, these types of tickets have added bonuses and/or multipliers to make them stand apart from the other scratchers.
Pop-culture
When looking across the U.S., though many of the scratch-off options are shared by multiple states, they all have unique, state-specific names.
State-specific
Consider the top-selling games of the following states:
New York
The state reported as selling more lottery tickets than any other in the country; their go-to games include:
- Riches, $20, odds 1 in 3.35, top prize - $5,000,000; it has the unique feature of 2x, 5x, 10x, 50x, and 100x multipliers.
- Premiere, $5, odds 1 in 3.92, top prize - $100,000,000; the ticket offers great odds on what is only a $5 ticket.
Massachusetts
Top-selling scratch-offs in the State of Massachusetts, which reportedly is said to entice with the best odds of any U.S. state, include:
- Lucky Bucks - $20, 1 in 2.94 odds of winning, top prize - $10,000,000; this ticket’s appeal is legendary among Massachusetts’ devoted players.
- Platinum Jackpot - $10, with 1 in 4.79 odds, top prize - $4,000,000; this is a matching numbers and bonus multiplier game that has players excited about the frequent/sizable giveaways.
Georgia
The State of Georgia may just have one of the U.S.' most creative state lotteries. Currently celebrating 30 years since having introduced their lottery, to commemorate their anniversary, the Peach State is featuring a ticket aptly called:
- ‘Celebrating 30 Years’, $5, odds 1 in 3.57, top prize 30,000, is packed with $3, $30 and $300 prize winners. And, as you can likely imagine, for this special collectors’ ticket, the Peach State has amassed a loyal band of followers.
California
Then, moving from the South to the West Coast, we come to California, where the state’s most popular scratch-offs include:
- California Road Trip Riches,$10, odds 1 in 2.92, top prize - $1,000,000. Highlighting the outdoorsy national park sites, e.g., both Joshua Tree and Yosemite National Parks, amid a map of the Golden State’s expansive roadway system adds a touch of geographical discovery to this scratcher.
- Space Invaders-Cash Invasion, $5 ticket, odds 1 in 4.77, top prize - $250,000. The unique element is the theme of sci-fi, which is fitting as it reflects the state’s iconic filmmaking industry.
*When stating odds of winning, we are referencing odds of winning versus cash odds.
Although habitual scratch-off players tend to profess loyalties to their favorite ticket, the truth is that, from time to time, particularly at the start of the month when the new scratch-off tickets are first introduced, they will readily admit to straying.
Granted, in the end, the scratch-off ticket a player chooses may be a reflection of knowing that it offers better odds of winning and/or still has a good number of top prizes to give away, but sometimes a player may just like the color of the ticket or its bonus feature of a lucky four leaf clover.
As psychologist Mark Dombeck states, “Playing the lottery doesn’t always make sense.”
And, according to him, it doesn’t have to.
In further breaking down the emotional aspect of purchasing tickets, Dombeck says, “The purchase of scratchers is an emotionally motivated decision rather than a rational one… You imagine that you could win. The image of that win in your mind fools the emotional system into getting excited. That’s enough for the emotion system to motivate action.”
While it’s important to venture out a bit to see what’s out there, it’s reassuring to know that you can always come back home to one’s tried and true, e.g., the old familiarity of a $10 crossword, which reliably delivers a no brain-no fuss, fallback option.
