Bits & Odds

New Jersey Scratch-Offs: Lots Sold, Few Top Prizes Claimed (October 2026)

Updated · 4 behind on top prizes · 1 in their last tickets

As of October 25, 2026, 4 New Jersey scratch-offs have sold lots of tickets but paid out few top prizes. Top of the list: $250,000 Crossword (#01996) ($10), 37% sold, only 1 of 6 top prizes claimed, with jackpot odds of 1 in 459,836, better than 1 in 611,365 on launch day. 1 game is in its last 10% of tickets with a top prize still waiting.

What it means: fewer top prizes claimed leaves the rest spread over fewer tickets, so the jackpot odds are better than on launch day. It does not make a win any closer: every ticket was a winner or not from the day it was printed, and some top prizes are sold but not cashed yet.

Lots sold, few top prizes claimed

  1. $10

    $250,000 Crossword (#01996)

    #01996
    37% sold only 1 of 6 top prizes claimed
    Top prizes left
    5 of 6
    Jackpot odds now
    1 in 459,836
    On launch day
    1 in 611,365
    Payout now
    71.5%
    Last top prize won
    41 days ago
  2. $2

    It Takes 2

    #01851
    69% sold only 3 of 6 top prizes claimed
    Top prizes left
    3 of 6
    Jackpot odds now
    1 in 764,215
    On launch day
    1 in 1.2 million
    Payout now
    63.5%
  3. $20

    Quarter Million Ca$h

    #01939
    45% sold only 3 of 9 top prizes claimed
    Top prizes left
    6 of 9
    Jackpot odds now
    1 in 673,878
    On launch day
    1 in 821,047
    Payout now
    69.6%
  4. $5

    Win For Life! (#01948)

    #01948
    70% sold only 19 of 30 top prizes claimed
    Top prizes left
    11 of 30
    Jackpot odds now
    1 in 349,811
    On launch day
    1 in 432,580
    Payout now
    57.0%
    Last top prize won
    31 days ago

Last tickets, top prize still waiting

10% or fewer of the tickets left. A top prize nobody claims by the deadline is never paid.

  1. $10

    $250,000 Crossword (#01965)

    #01965
    last 8% of tickets, a top prize still waiting
    Top prizes left
    1 of 6
    Jackpot odds now
    1 in 278,444
    On launch day
    1 in 617,790
    Payout now
    73.8%

Left out: Crossword (#01953). Our ticket count for it is too shaky to call. Why.

Frequently asked questions

Which New Jersey scratch-offs have sold lots but paid out few top prizes?
4 today. $250,000 Crossword (#01996): 37% sold, only 1 of 6 top prizes claimed; It Takes 2: 69% sold, only 3 of 6 top prizes claimed; Quarter Million Ca$h: 45% sold, only 3 of 9 top prizes claimed.
Does that mean a top prize is about to be won?
No. Every ticket was a winner or not from the day it was printed. What changes is the odds: the top prizes left are spread over fewer tickets, so 4 of these games have better jackpot odds than on launch day. They are still long odds.
How do you decide a game is behind?
A game that has sold half its tickets would, on average, have paid out about half its top prizes. We list a game when at least one whole top prize fewer has been claimed than its share of sales would usually bring, and the share of top prizes left beats the share of tickets left by 5 points or more. For $250,000 Crossword (#01996), about 37% sold would usually mean about 2.2 top prizes claimed; 1 has been. The share sold is our estimate from the official prize counts (see methodology).
Could a top prize already be won and just not claimed?
Yes. A prize counts as claimed only once the winner turns the ticket in, and winners have months to do it, so part of any gap is tickets already sold.
Are these the best New Jersey scratch-offs to buy?
Not on value: their median payout is 66.5%, against 69.7% for every scratch-off on sale, because top prizes are a small part of most games' prize money. For the most back per dollar, see the payout ranking.
Is this free?
Yes, every day. One paid tier elsewhere sells this as a subscriber alert; here it is a page anyone can read.

More New Jersey lists

New Jersey hub Top prizes remaining Current top prize odds Current payout Ending games How odds change after launch

See how we calculate this and where the data comes from.