PHILADELPHIA - s4story -- The Scratch-Off Dead Zone

**Nearly 1 in 6 Scratch-Off Games Still on Sale After All Top Prizes Are Gone, Analysis Finds**
*ScratchSmarter data study identifies 579 "Dead Zone" games across 41 states*

**SKIPPACK, PA — April 2026** — ScratchSmarter, which tracks prize data daily from official lottery websites across 41 states, has found that 17.3% of active scratch-off games have already paid out every top prize — yet remain on store shelves at full price.

The study covers 3,348 active scratch-off games. A game enters what ScratchSmarter calls the "Dead Zone" when its biggest advertised prize is gone but tickets keep selling.

**Key Findings:**

- **579 of 3,348 games (17.3%)** have zero top prizes remaining
- **Wisconsin** leads all states at **54.5%** — more than half of its active games can't pay their top prize
- **Oregon** is close behind at **53.1%**
- **Vermont (42.2%), Kentucky (37.3%), and Louisiana (32.7%)** round out the worst five
- **Iowa, Maine, Minnesota, Mississippi, and Nebraska** have zero Dead Zone games
- Massachusetts is selling a **$50 ticket** ("Billion Dollar Extravaganza") whose **$25 million top prize** is already claimed

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- Two **$30 New York games** with **$10 million top prizes** are both in the Dead Zone

"When a game enters the Dead Zone, the top prize is mathematically impossible to win — but the lottery charges full price and the ticket still advertises a prize that no longer exists," said Dave, founder of ScratchSmarter. "Players deserve to know before they buy."

https://scratchsmarter.com/scratch-off-dead-zone-study/

Players can check which games still have top prizes using ScratchSmarter's free tools, including state-by-state Games to Avoid lists and the Odds Visualizer at scratchsmarter.com/odds-visualizer.

**Methodology:** Data pulled April 1, 2026 from official state lottery websites across 41 states. A game is classified as Dead Zone when 100% of its highest prize tier has been claimed. Full study: scratchsmarter.com/scratch-off-dead-zone-study/

**About ScratchSmarter:** Founded in 2011, ScratchSmarter (scratchsmarter.com) is the largest independent scratch-off lottery analysis platform in the US, with 15 years of daily prize data across 41 states.

**Media Contact:**
Dave@scratchsmarter.com
scratchsmarter.com