South Dakota Holiday Scratch Games: What to Buy and What to Skip (October 2026)
4 South Dakota holiday scratch games are on sale as of October 14, 2026. The best of them by current payout is SEASON'S GREETINGS ($5) at 69.9%, 1 in 4.11 for any prize. As a group they are the worse buy: a median payout of 64.7% against 68.8% across all 35 games on sale. Festive packaging is not a better ticket.
South Dakota holiday scratch games on sale, best payout first
- 1 $5
SEASON'S GREETINGS
#120269.9% payout now- EV / ticket
- $3.50
- Any prize
- 1 in 4.11
- Beats price
- 1 in 6.98
- Top prizes
- 3 of 3
Best payout - 2 $2
SNOW ME THE MONEY
#120166.3% payout now- EV / ticket
- $1.33
- Any prize
- 1 in 4.37
- Beats price
- 1 in 7.40
- Top prizes
- 4 of 4
- 3 $1
FROSTY FUN
#120063.1% payout now- EV / ticket
- $0.63
- Any prize
- 1 in 4.67
- Beats price
- 1 in 7.86
- Top prizes
- 8 of 8
- 4 $5
MERRY BRIGHT
#117263.1% payout now- EV / ticket
- $3.15
- Any prize
- 1 in 4.05
- Beats price
- 1 in 8.14
- 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 4 games in a table
| # Game | Price | Payout now | EV / ticket | Any-prize odds | Cash odds | Profit odds | Top prize | Top left | 7-day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. SEASON'S GREETINGS | $5 | 69.9% | $3.50 | 1 in 4.11 | 1 in 4.11 | 1 in 6.98 | $10,000 | 3 | — |
| 2. SNOW ME THE MONEY | $2 | 66.3% | $1.33 | 1 in 4.37 | 1 in 4.37 | 1 in 7.40 | $2,000 | 4 | — |
| 3. FROSTY FUN | $1 | 63.1% | $0.63 | 1 in 4.67 | 1 in 4.67 | 1 in 7.86 | $1,000 | 8 | — |
| 4. MERRY BRIGHT | $5 | 63.1% | $3.15 | 1 in 4.05 | 1 in 4.05 | 1 in 8.14 | $10,000 | 1 | — |
Why holiday scratch games 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. In South Dakota right now that share is lower than the state's ordinary games: a median 64.7% against 68.8%. Buying the festive ticket costs you about 4.0% of every dollar. 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 South Dakota, and the top prizes still unclaimed list shows which games have their headline prize in play. Both are free and both are recomputed daily.
South Dakota holiday scratch games: common questions
- How many South Dakota holiday scratch games are on sale right now?
- 4 as of October 14, 2026.
- Are holiday scratch games a better bet than normal ones?
- No. In South Dakota today the holiday games return a median 64.7% against 68.8% across all 35 games on sale. They are marketed harder and pay less.
- When do South Dakota holiday scratch games go on sale?
- South Dakota has released its holiday range in October and November: the games we hold launched between September 16, 2025 and September 9, 2026. This page lists the new range the day the South Dakota Lottery publishes it, because we re-read the official prize data every day.
- Can I still claim a holiday scratch game 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.