Massachusetts Holiday Scratch Tickets: What to Buy and What to Skip (October 2026)
14 Massachusetts holiday scratch tickets are on sale as of October 25, 2026. The best of them by current payout is $2,500,000 MERRY & BRIGHT ($10) at 85.9%, 1 in 2.84 for any prize. Unusually, they are the better buy this year: a median payout of 78.9% against 76.5% across all 129 games on sale.
Massachusetts holiday scratch tickets on sale, best payout first
- 1 $10
MERRY & BRIGHT BLOWOUT
#46397.9% payout now- EV / ticket
- $9.79
- Any prize
- 1 in 6.68
- Beats price
- 1 in 6.68
- Top prizes
- 18 of 11,088
- 2 $10
MERRY-MINT BLOWOUT
#51893.9% payout now- EV / ticket
- $9.39
- Any prize
- 1 in 7.01
- Beats price
- 1 in 7.01
- Top prizes
- 46 of 12,936
- 3 $1
$10,000 MERRY & BRIGHT
#45988.5% payout now- EV / ticket
- $0.88
- Any prize
- 1 in 2.64
- Beats price
- 1 in 5.42
- Top prizes
- 0 of 4
Figures uncertain No top prize left - 4 $10
$2,500,000 MERRY & BRIGHT
#46285.9% payout now- EV / ticket
- $8.59
- Any prize
- 1 in 2.84
- Beats price
- 1 in 4.69
- Top prizes
- 0 of 3
No top prize left - 5 $20
$250,000 WINTER WINNINGS
#51980.5% payout now- EV / ticket
- $16.11
- Any prize
- 1 in 2.96
- Beats price
- 1 in 5.05
- Top prizes
- 13 of 39
- 6 $10
Candy Cane Cash Blowout (#570)
#57080.1% payout now- EV / ticket
- $8.01
- Any prize
- 1 in 8.87
- Beats price
- 1 in 8.87
- Top prizes
- 11,744 of 14,784
New - 7 $10
$50,000 Winter Green
#42379.5% payout now- EV / ticket
- $7.95
- Any prize
- 1 in 5.06
- Beats price
- 1 in 5.06
- Top prizes
- 1 of 20
- 8 $5
$1,000,000 WINTER WINNINGS (#516)
#51678.2% payout now- EV / ticket
- $3.91
- Any prize
- 1 in 4.13
- Beats price
- 1 in 7.57
- Top prizes
- 1 of 3
- 9 $5
Candy Cane Cash Blowout (#568)
#56876.5% payout now- EV / ticket
- $3.82
- Any prize
- 1 in 9.15
- Beats price
- 1 in 9.15
- Top prizes
- 7,015 of 9,100
New - 10 $5
$200,000 ELF CASHWORD
#51775.4% payout now- EV / ticket
- $3.77
- Any prize
- 1 in 3.80
- Beats price
- 1 in 10.0
- Top prizes
- 0 of 3
No top prize left - 11 $2
Jolly Peng-Win Cashword
#56672.8% payout now- EV / ticket
- $1.46
- Any prize
- 1 in 4.41
- Beats price
- 1 in 7.88
- Top prizes
- 3 of 3
New - 12 $1
$10,000 WINTER WINNINGS (#514)
#51468.8% payout now- EV / ticket
- $0.69
- Any prize
- 1 in 3.94
- Beats price
- 1 in 7.22
- Top prizes
- 1 of 4
- 13 $2
$1,000,000 WINTER WINNINGS (#515)
#51568.0% payout now- EV / ticket
- $1.36
- Any prize
- 1 in 4.72
- Beats price
- 1 in 7.79
- Top prizes
- 1 of 3
- 14 $2
NAUGHTY OR NICE CASHWORD
#46450.3% payout now- EV / ticket
- $1.01
- Any prize
- 1 in 6.23
- Beats price
- 1 in 12.9
- Top prizes
- 1 of 3
Payout is what the remaining prize pool returns per dollar; profit odds count only prizes larger than the ticket price. Definitions are on the methodology page.
Compare all 14 games in a table
| # Game | Price | Payout now | EV / ticket | Any-prize odds | Cash odds | Profit odds | Top prize | Top left | 7-day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. MERRY & BRIGHT BLOWOUT | $10 | 97.9%? | $9.79 | 1 in 6.68 | 1 in 6.68 | 1 in 6.68 | $500 | 18 | 0.0 pts |
| 2. MERRY-MINT BLOWOUT | $10 | 93.9%? | $9.39 | 1 in 7.01 | 1 in 7.01 | 1 in 7.01 | $500 | 46 | +0.4 pts |
| 3. $10,000 MERRY & BRIGHT | $1 | 88.5%? | $0.88 | 1 in 2.64 | 1 in 2.64 | 1 in 5.42 | $10,000 | 0 | 0.0 pts |
| 4. $2,500,000 MERRY & BRIGHT | $10 | 85.9% | $8.59 | 1 in 2.84 | 1 in 2.84 | 1 in 4.69 | $2,500,000 | 0 | 0.0 pts |
| 5. $250,000 WINTER WINNINGS | $20 | 80.5% | $16.11 | 1 in 2.96 | 1 in 2.96 | 1 in 5.05 | $250,000 | 13 | 0.0 pts |
| 6. Candy Cane Cash Blowout New | $10 | 80.1% | $8.01 | 1 in 8.87 | 1 in 8.87 | 1 in 8.87 | $500 | 11,744 | 0.0 pts |
| 7. $50,000 Winter Green | $10 | 79.5% | $7.95 | 1 in 5.06 | 1 in 5.06 | 1 in 5.06 | $50,000 | 1 | 0.0 pts |
| 8. $1,000,000 WINTER WINNINGS | $5 | 78.2% | $3.91 | 1 in 4.13 | 1 in 4.13 | 1 in 7.57 | $1,000,000 | 1 | -0.2 pts |
| 9. Candy Cane Cash Blowout New | $5 | 76.5% | $3.82 | 1 in 9.15 | 1 in 9.15 | 1 in 9.15 | $250 | 7,015 | 0.0 pts |
| 10. $200,000 ELF CASHWORD | $5 | 75.4% | $3.77 | 1 in 3.80 | 1 in 3.80 | 1 in 10.0 | $200,000 | 0 | 0.0 pts |
| 11. Jolly Peng-Win Cashword New | $2 | 72.8% | $1.46 | 1 in 4.41 | 1 in 4.41 | 1 in 7.88 | $50,000 | 3 | -0.6 pts |
| 12. $10,000 WINTER WINNINGS | $1 | 68.8% | $0.69 | 1 in 3.94 | 1 in 3.94 | 1 in 7.22 | $10,000 | 1 | -0.1 pts |
| 13. $1,000,000 WINTER WINNINGS | $2 | 68.0% | $1.36 | 1 in 4.72 | 1 in 4.72 | 1 in 7.79 | $100,000 | 1 | -0.2 pts |
| 14. NAUGHTY OR NICE CASHWORD | $2 | 50.3%? | $1.01 | 1 in 6.23 | 1 in 6.23 | 1 in 12.9 | $50,000 | 1 | -1.3 pts |
Why holiday scratch tickets usually pay less
A holiday range is the most heavily promoted thing a state lottery sells. The tickets are bigger, the artwork is better, and they arrive at the one time of year when people who never buy a scratcher buy one as a gift. None of that changes the arithmetic. The prize pool is printed before the game ships, and the share of each dollar it returns is set at the same time. Massachusetts is the exception this year: its holiday games return a median 78.9% against 76.5% for the state as a whole. The one thing a new holiday game does guarantee is that its top prizes are still unclaimed, which is not true of a game that has been on the shelf since spring.
If you are buying a scratcher as a gift, the useful question is not which game is festive but which is still worth handing over. The payout ranking answers that for every game in Massachusetts, and the top prizes still unclaimed list shows which games have their headline prize in play. Both are free and both are recomputed daily.
Massachusetts holiday scratch tickets: common questions
- How many Massachusetts holiday scratch tickets are on sale right now?
- 14 as of October 25, 2026.
- Are holiday scratch tickets a better bet than normal ones?
- This year, yes: 78.9% median payout against 76.5% for the state as a whole. That is unusual and it will not hold once prizes are claimed.
- When do Massachusetts holiday scratch tickets go on sale?
- Massachusetts has released its holiday range in October and November: the games we hold launched between October 17, 2023 and October 6, 2026. This page lists the new range the day the Massachusetts Lottery publishes it, because we re-read the official prize data every day.
- Can I still claim a holiday scratch ticket from last year?
- Only while the game is inside its claim window. A game stops selling months before claims close, so check the last claim date on the game's own page.
- Do unclaimed holiday prizes carry over?
- No. Every game is a fixed pool printed before it ships, and prizes that are never claimed are simply never paid. That is why a game late in its life can look generous on paper: the money is still in the pool, but so are the tickets.