Bits & Odds

Virginia Holiday Scratchers: What to Buy and What to Skip (November 2026)

Updated · 3 holiday scratchers on sale

3 Virginia holiday scratchers are on sale as of November 6, 2026. The best of them by current payout is MERRY MONEY TREE ($5) at 69.6%, 1 in 4.26 for any prize. As a group they are the worse buy: a median payout of 66.4% against 69.9% across all 62 games on sale. Festive packaging is not a better ticket.

Virginia holiday scratchers on sale, best payout first

  1. 1 $5

    MERRY MONEY TREE

    #2429
    69.6% payout now
    EV / ticket
    $3.48
    Any prize
    1 in 4.26
    Beats price
    1 in 7.36
    Top prizes
    4 of 4
    Best payout New
  2. 2 $2

    PEPPERMINT PAYOUT

    #2428
    66.4% payout now
    EV / ticket
    $1.33
    Any prize
    1 in 4.33
    Beats price
    1 in 7.63
    Top prizes
    5 of 5
    New
  3. 3 $1

    HOLIDAY TRIPLER

    #2427
    63.2% payout now
    EV / ticket
    $0.63
    Any prize
    1 in 4.61
    Beats price
    1 in 8.59
    Top prizes
    578 of 602
    New

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 3 games in a table
Virginia holiday Scratchers ranked by current payout
# Game Price Payout now EV / ticket Any-prize odds Cash odds Profit odds Top prize Top left 7-day
1. MERRY MONEY TREE #2429 New $5 69.6% $3.48 1 in 4.26 1 in 4.26 1 in 7.36 $125,000 4 -0.7 pts
2. PEPPERMINT PAYOUT #2428 New $2 66.4% $1.33 1 in 4.33 1 in 4.33 1 in 7.63 $25,000 5 -0.1 pts
3. HOLIDAY TRIPLER #2427 New $1 63.2% $0.63 1 in 4.61 1 in 4.61 1 in 8.59 $300 578 +0.1 pts

Why holiday scratchers 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 Virginia right now that share is lower than the state's ordinary games: a median 66.4% against 69.9%. Buying the festive ticket costs you about 3.6% 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 Virginia, and the top prizes still unclaimed list shows which games have their headline prize in play. Both are free and both are recomputed daily.

Virginia holiday scratchers: common questions

How many Virginia holiday scratchers are on sale right now?
3 as of November 6, 2026.
Are holiday scratchers a better bet than normal ones?
No. In Virginia today the holiday games return a median 66.4% against 69.9% across all 62 games on sale. They are marketed harder and pay less.
When do Virginia holiday scratchers go on sale?
Virginia has released its holiday range in October and November: the games we hold launched between November 3, 2026 and November 3, 2026. This page lists the new range the day the Virginia Lottery publishes it, because we re-read the official prize data every day.
Can I still claim a holiday scratcher 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.
Virginia hub New games Ranked by payout Top prizes left

Source: Virginia Lottery official prize data, captured November 6, 2026. See sources and methodology.